Dangerous Kind Of Love
by Twilightobsessed09
Summary: FBI agent Bella Swan is sent undercover to gather evidence against crime boss and arms dealer, Jasper Whitlock, after the murder of her brother, Agent James Swan. But things are not as they seem. When Bella falls for Jasper, will she be able to do what is required or will she let her heart lead the way. AH, OOC, mature themes.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: This story is a work of fiction. The plot herein is mine. All recognizable characters belong to SM. No copyright infringement is intended. No re** **production of this story is permitted without my consent!**

 **This story contains mature themes and is suitable for those eighteen and over.**

 **Thanks to beanothercullen for making this look presentable. You rock!**

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 _ **Summary:**_ _FBI agent Bella Swan is sent undercover to gather evidence against crime boss, Jasper Whitlock. But when she falls for him, will she do what the job wants or will she let her heart lead her? Jas/Bella, AH, OOC, mature themes._

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 _ **Jasper, Chicago, 2006…**_

"Are you gonna handle this or should I?" Aro asked. His gun was cocked and pointed at the guy's head. "I suppose I would have to do it again. Just like everything else. I mean, we can't have Nicky's boy gettin' his hand tainted, now can we?"

I didn't answer him. Aro loved to piss people off. He was an irritable, hateful son of a bitch. If he hadn't saved my pops life when they were kids, I wouldn't be so lenient with the bastard's presence in my fucking life.

Everything I did was scrutinized by Aro since Pops sent him to Chicago from time to time to check on me.

"What's the damn problem?" I scowled. I didn't want to fucking be here, and I, for damn sure, didn't want Aro killing this guy in one of my warehouses. The FBI had my warehouses and just about everything with my last name on it under surveillance. What was this doped up idiot thinking? "Do we have to do this shit here?"

His bitch Jane giggled and I snapped my eyes to her, shutting her up.

Jane was Aro's little girlfriend. About twenty something years his junior and a sick fuck. She got off on torturing and killing people. Whatever turned these two idiots on, fucked everything up for us. Since they have been in Chicago, it had been one disaster after another.

Luckily, I had my cleaner, Garrett, around to fix things.

Jane leered down at the bloodied blond haired guy on the floor. Her curious gazes at the guy gave me the fucking creeps. She was looking at him like he was a delicious meal.

I always hated this side of the business. I never liked getting my hands dirty, but sometimes, it was necessary. However, this time, it was a fickle situation. Not only would this guy be missed, he was a fucking FBI agent.

More so, he meant a lot more to me than I could let on.

"Are you scared, _boss_?" Jane sneered at me and I wanted to slap the smirk off the bitch's face.

"Be very careful who you're talking to," I said to her. My tone was deadly. I wasn't afraid of anything. Least of all, her scrawny ass. I'd snap her neck if she kept talking to me with disrespect. "Don't fuck with me."

Jane shuddered a little and batted her eyes away; moving closer to Aro, who wasn't fazed by what I had just said. He was too busy staring down at the broken guy on the floor, groaning in pain.

Looking away from them, I eyed Peter, Garrett and Emmett. Our silent conversation ended as quickly as it begun because we knew that this guy – James Swan – wasn't gonna make it out of here alive. Aro or Jane would fuck this up in my territory and I would have to have Garrett clean their mess up. He was good at his shit. He would make it look like a fucking accident or a mugging gone wrong.

"Come on, baby blue, make a decision!" Aro shouted. He pressed the barrel of his gun into the side of James's head. "I already popped his snitch back at their little meeting spot. So I'm just waiting on the big boss's go ahead." Aro sniffed. The motherfucker was high. Jane snickered at Aro's teasing tone and my eyes snapped to hers, shutting her up again. You could hear the evil in Aro's voice. He was out for blood. He was hungry for it.

I glanced down at James. He turned over and looked at me, peering into my eyes with his one good eye as if he wanted to say something. He was badly beaten. He had been through hell before I got here. Watching Jane hover over him made it evident who delivered most of his beating. Like I said, she got off on torture. She loved to hear people's scream and cries of pain before she killed them.

I took my eyes off of James. I couldn't feel. I wouldn't feel. He was an alright guy. The shit shouldn't have gone down like this. Now, I had to start over.

Again, I hated that Pops owed Aro's his life because I would have gotten rid of this fuck's ass long ago.

"Wasn't Caius your own damn cousin?" I asked as James groaned and closed his eyes. He turned away from me. We both knew.

He moved a little. He wasn't trying to crawl away, because there was nowhere he could go anyways, but Jane saw it fit to stomp on what looked like his already broken right leg. He howled in pain and Emmett stepped closer.

I wanted to wring her neck. If I were to kill James right now, it would be out of mercy. This was too much pain. It wasn't right. None of this was right. I felt like I was about to watch my brother die. My stomach churned but I pushed that shit aside. I couldn't appear weak.

I would give nothing away.

"So the fuck what?" Aro said smugly. "He was a fucking snitch!"

This was a cluster-fuck. Aro had killed his cousin before I could talk to Caius. He thought Caius was feeding the FBI with information.

James Swan had been sent to infiltrate us. He was to gather information on Pops and me in order to take us down.

Since we found out about James, Emmett – being the computer whiz he was –had been trying to crack James's file but that shit was sealed tighter than a virgin's pussy. For some reason, the guy's file was Fort Knox. Someone would have to get what I needed on James from the inside.

So far, all the agents in our back pockets didn't have that kind of clearance.

Did James have any family? Any connections? Anybody who would want to exact revenge for his death?

Aro sniffled and shook his head. I wish I could pop him right now. If he wasn't my pops right hand. Damn it!

"Caius was fucking family!"

"And?" he asked nonchalantly, his bloodshot eyes taking me in. The guy was a fucking vampire when it came to illegal substances. He ate the shit like candy.

I would not tolerate the shit he did, but Pops would. He was always giving Aro a free pass. The shit was fucking annoying!

"And that was wrong!" I shouted. I was mad. I could have learned something from Caius before Aro put a bullet between his eyes. "You don't do that shit to family. And Caius was family. You popped him before we could find out what he fucking told the FBI!"

I knew Caius was feeding them information. I just wanted to know what he said. Shit!

"You handle it," I said calmly.

Aro laughed. "Well, baby blue…I handled it."

I didn't say anything. My temper was on the verge of erupting. I wanted to kill him and his twisted bitch so much I could taste it.

Aro stared at me for a long minute then gave his gun to Jane, who hit James over the head with it. He pulled his other gun and pointed it at me. I heard the clicks of Peter's, Garrett's, and Emmett's guns. They were trained on Aro. The fucker was out of his mind. He would die if tried shit. He chuckled, staring at me intently as he asked, "Are you challenging me, baby blue?"

"You better get that fucking gun out of my face if you know what's good for you."

"Or what? Your goon squad is gonna blow me away?" He teased, drawing closer and pointing the gun at my head. "Come on, baby blue…" I hated the fucking nickname he gave me when I was a kid. He had been calling me that because of my pronounced blue eyes. They were the same color as my mother's eyes, God rest her soul, and I considered it an honor to have them. "…pull your gun out and show me how much of a man you really are. Come on, _boss_ , blow this cocksucker away. I think I've trained you right."

That was another thing I hated. Aro loved to take credit for what I'd learned, but no one taught me half the shit I knew. Pops wasn't an easy man to deal with while growing up. Then again, being the head of a multimillion dollar business surrounding racketeering and arms dealing would make anyone a hard head. But every fucking thing I got, I had to work for. Pops never made it easy for me, especially with me being his first born. The world fell on my shoulders, because it was up to me to carry on the legacy when he croaked. So I was judged and ridiculed about everything I did.

I didn't need Aro trying to get me a kill, I had already had my fill and I was only 27 years old. You don't go through Pops' business without meeting up on a few hard heads who didn't understand themselves and needed to be taught a lesson. A lesson I could handle my own damn self.

"Come on baby blue," Aro repeated, swaying a bit on his feet.

He wanted to kill James, he had no idea how I wanted to fucking kill him. "Don't fucking call me that," I sneered. "I've told you a thousand times not to call me that, haven't I?"

"Oh come on, quit being a party pooper, baby blue," He taunted.

He glanced back at Jane, and by the time he met my eyes again, he was staring down the barrel of my gun. "Put the gun down. Dump his beaten ass somewhere. I'm not about to have some agent dying in my fucking warehouse, which is under goddamn surveillance, because you and your bitch get off on killing people, you sick, drugged out fuck!"

We both cocked our guns and kept them trained on each other. He grinned evilly and said, "I told your Pops you wouldn't do it."

It all happened in slow motion. A shot rang out and the agent's body bounced against the ground with the impact. Out of my peripheral, I could see blood pouring out of his head from the wound. I kept my poker face while watching Jane laugh as her gun smoked from the shot she'd fired. Aro's eyes stayed on me while he waited for a reaction to his comment about Pops ordering this hit. A million thoughts ran through my mind at the revelation, but I didn't let it show. I was used to Pops not trusting me to hold my own. I just wished…

Damn.

"Pops ordered it, huh?" I asked. Aro nodded in agreement. "Alright then." Walking over to James's body, I looked down at him. A hole was in the middle of his forehead and his eyes were wide open and blankly staring up at me. Looking up at Aro, I chuckled and shook my head before shooting Jane in the shoulder.

She screeched and thrashed around on the ground not far from James's body. I was a picture of calm as I walked over and then squatted down next to her. "Did I tell you to shoot him?"

She stopped howling in pain for a minute and stared up at me while clutching her wounded shoulder. She was terrified of my calm demeanor. "I asked you a question. Did I tell you to shoot him?"

Jane didn't answer verbally. She closed her eyes and started writhing in pain again.

Fuck no. I would not be ignored by this evil bitch.

I grabbed her hair and pulled her face up to mine. Her eyes snapped open, staring into mine. She mumbled something unintelligible and I gripped her hair tighter, making her scream in pain. I would yank every strand from the root if she didn't answer me.

"No…sir," she sobbed.

Aro stepped closer and I pointed my gun at him without looking, cocking it, while keeping my eyes on Jane. I was letting her see the demon I could be. Letting her see the devil inside. This was what any fucker who stood against me and my family saw before I killed them. "When I tell you to do something, you do it, you hear me?" She nodded and whimpered. I further tightened my grip on her hair, making her sob as my fingers dug into her scalp. "We understand each other now, Jane?"

Jane whispered yes and I let her go, watching her flop back on the ground, moaning in pain. I stepped away, walking over to my boys with my gun still trained on Aro. He had yet to say anything. I was sure he was going to tell Pops about this, but I didn't give a fuck. Let the old man call me and try to chew my ass about shooting his fucked up friend's whore. I didn't care. What mattered to me was the shitstorm James's death was going to cause if someone pieced this shit together and it led back to me. I was already getting a fucking headache just thinking about it. We would have to work fast to cover this shit up. I looked at my men, and lowered my gun, putting it back in its holster. "Garrett…take care of this."

He nodded and went back to the car. He returned with his kit. Garrett was always prepared for shit. Peter and Emmett still had their guns trained on Aro. I waited until Garrett walked over to James's lifeless body before I got ready to leave. Two of my other guys would stay behind with Garrett. Emmett was staying. Peter would leave with me.

Emmett still had his gun on Aro. "What do you need?" he asked, not taking his eyes or gun off of Aro.

"Cover this shit up," I told him. "Don't leave any trail."

"Rosie can help with that," he said. Rosalie was Emmett's girl. She has been with us for some months now ever since she and Emmett hooked up. Rosalie was one of the best hackers I had ever met, next to Emmett, who I had known all my life.

"I don't want a lot of people knowing about this shit," I hissed. "Get Rosalie back here now! What is she doing anyways?"

"Visiting some relatives of hers," Emmett said. "I'll get her back here. I'll need her help with this mess. The more hands on it, the better."

"I didn't need this!" I growled. "And my fucking little cousin is working in another division." Edward could tell me what was going on. He was family. Leah, my head bodyguard's, lover, and one of my FBI informants. If he were working in Chicago, he would let me know what the fuck was up. I gotta find a way to get his ass transferred out here. "Em, get Rosalie's ass back here now and get this shit done. I want to cover our tracks covered!"

I looked back at Aro. He was with his woman, both of them eyeing me with hate. So what the fuck was new? I would find a way to kill his ass one day if he didn't kill me first.

I rolled my eyes at Jane's pathetic groans when Aro took her up into his arms. I turned away and walked out of the clusterfuck with a helluva lot of shit to think about.

I was at the door when Aro's threat stopped me. "This isn't over, Jasper." His voice, deadly.

I turned to him with a cocky smirk plastered on my face and said snidely, "Looking forward to your next visit."

Peter and I walked out. "He's fucking serious, you know," Peter chuckled.

"I know." I knew Aro was a spiteful fuck. Good thing I was always watching my back. My biggest problem right now was James Swan. I needed the information. I needed to solve a problem only James could have helped me with.

Who was he? If only the bitch hadn't shot him.

I got in the back of my car with a heavy sigh. I had a lot of shit to do. This was just beginning. I could feel it. Leah looked at me through the rearview mirror. "Fucked up, huh?" she asked.

"Yeah, it is." I sighed. "It's a clusterfuck and I'm gonna make it out this one with some scars."

"I'll keep your ass safe, boss," Leah chuckled and I smiled. It was good to have family like Leah.

I could talk to her about anything. She has been in our family all her life. She was straightforward and had a sick sense of humor. Leah was like the little sister I never had. Her and her little brother, Seth, grew up with my family because their mom was our housekeeper, but when she passed away from cancer, Pops had to help. So we took them in. Leah stuck to me like a lost puppy and she and Edward started banging as soon as they knew what to do with their private parts.

We were happy. But it wasn't meant to be. Something had to fuck things up.

The fuck up came in the form of Seth being killed by a mugger three weeks after his high school graduation. He was heading to Harvard. He wanted to be an oncologist.

Leah lost it. I was there. Edward was there, but she damn near ended up in a nuthouse. She was inconsolable. Emmett tracked the mugger down and I was going to kill the bastard, but Leah asked to do it. I wasn't about to deny her.

He was unrecognizable when Leah was through with him.

She left New York for Chicago and hadn't left my side since.

Peter's voice brought me out of my reverie. "Rosalie better get back soon."

"Yeah. She better."

I looked out the window wondering why it felt like I had just hurt someone I loved. What the fuck was happening to me?

 **Next: Bella gets what she wants, but at a cost.**


	2. James' Legacy

**AN: Thank you for the reviews, favs and alerts. It means a lot. I'm happy you guys liked the beginning.**

 **Thanks to beanothercullen for making this look good!**

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 _ **Two days later.**_

 _ **Bella, Washington, 2006…**_

This wasn't real.

It was as simple as that. I was having a bad dream.

We weren't here.

I was asleep in my bed. Jamie would probably wake me up soon for annoying him with my ramblings. He liked to complain about me talking in my sleep, but he also said he found it informative. He got to know about the guys he should be beating up.

We couldn't be here.

This was not happening. Not to us. Not to Jamie.

The SUV we were in pulled to a stop. Alice and the agent who drove us, exited the car first. Rosie had my hand in a death grip while my mind was stuck in a state of denial.

We were not here. We were not about to do this. No. This was not happening.

Despite the tight grip Rosie had on me, I hardly felt a thing. I couldn't stop staring at the building we had stopped in front of. The building that held Jamie's body.

We shouldn't be here.

"I can't, Honey Bee." Rosie cried. She let go of my hand long enough to throw herself on me, hugging me tightly. "I can't do this!"

I say nothing. What could I say? I was in denial. To me, this was a nightmare I couldn't wake up from. I was lying in bed, mentally pleading with Jamie to come and wake me up.

I was not outside of a morgue. Alice did not call me, crying, with the bad news. Jamie was not gone. He couldn't be. He was my big brother. My protector. He was my life. He and Rose and Dad were all I had.

He couldn't be gone. It wasn't possible. Jamie wouldn't do this to me. He wouldn't leave me.

We knew the job. We knew the risks. We knew what we were getting ourselves into when we joined the government like Dad. He wasn't hesitant when it came to Jamie, but he nearly had a heart attack when Rosie followed him into the CIA and they all almost had an aneurysm when I joined Jamie at the FBI.

That shit didn't matter now. What mattered was, we shouldn't fucking be here. We should be at our rendezvous for R and R. Jamie should be pounding on my door to wake me up from this dream.

I was not at a fucking morgue. This was wrong!

Rosie's sniffling broke me out of my thoughts. I looked at her and saw nothing that resembled my strong big sister. All I saw was a scared little girl afraid of what reality awaited us beyond the safety of the vehicle we were sitting in.

"Do we really have to go…in there?" Rosie cried. "Jamie is in there, Honey Bee. Jamie is in there. I can't…" She continued to sob. "I just can't."

My own strong voice frightened me. "We have to. Someone has to identify him. We need to follow procedure." This was a dream anyways. It was just a fucked up dream. I could pretend to be strong.

"Fuck procedure!" Rosalie snarled angrily. I could take it. I didn't even flinch. She was mad about the sad predicament we were in. Our brother was dead, and there was nothing we could do but accept that. It wasn't real anyways. It was just a dream. "What the fuck with is wrong with you, Honey Bee?!"

I didn't answer her. I couldn't. If I did, the floodgates would be opened. If I did, I would be inconsolable.

I got out of the car and walked off.

This was a dream. This was a dream. This was a fucked up dream. If I went in there, I could this. I could wake up. Obviously, the dream would end when I realized Jamie wasn't in there.

The footsteps of the others sounded behind me as I approached the building. They followed me inside. They stopped when I stopped in the lobby to take a deep breath and remind myself to be strong. _And to continue denying reality._ No. It wasn't reality. This was a fucked up dream I would soon wake from.

The funny thing was there were so many things that contradicted my claim.

Things like, the smell of Rosie's perfume. It surrounded me and I almost broke down when I remember that Jamie had bought it for their shared birthday last month. He boasted about being her big brother and Rose scoffed and reminded him it was only by five minutes.

I started moving again.

I could hear Alice's heels clicking and clacking on the tile floor. I stopped and they did too. I took a deep breath as I remembered how Jamie confessed to me, about three months ago, that he was going to ask her to marry him.

I didn't have to worry about the queasy feeling in the pit of my stomach. I shouldn't pay the clenching feeling any mind. I would hold on to it and walk because I was about to wake up.

But instead of courage and determination, I shook with fear as bile rose in my throat when the doctor came into view. The others and me stopped and waited for him to approach us.

As I took his approach, I reminded myself that he was connected to this dream. I would soon be waking up at our rendezvous place in Port Angeles. Dad had picked the place because it was near the town we grew up in, Forks.

He loved Forks. As did we. Forks held great memories as well as sad ones for my siblings and me.

The good memories surround my big brother and sister being there for me through everything. Middle school, High school, bullys, guys who Jamie threatened within an inch of their lives if they tried to date his sisters. And sad memories like watching our mother leave us.

I was the one who woke up too soon. I was the one who saw her get in the guy's car. I watched as he leaned over the console and they shared a kiss. I was the one who ran the car down, going as fast as my little four year old legs could take me. I remember my mother looking back at me and me screaming for her and then watching her turn away. I remember the strong arm of my big brother around my waist. He brought me to a stop. He hoisted me in the air. I tried to fight him off but he wouldn't let go.

" _No, Jamie! No! Mommy's leaving! No!" I screamed. Rosie was in front of me then. She had tears in her pretty eyes._

" _We're here, Honey Bee," she said, trying not to cry. She was being strong because she was a big girl. "Jamie and I will never leave you."_

" _We never will," Jamie whispered in my ear with a kiss to my cheek._

They never left me.

"Good evening, everyone," the doctor said, bringing me back. I was kind of excited to see him because I could wake up now.

"Good evening," I replied, wondering where I found the strength to. Then again, I had to do this. This was a part of the dream.

His green eyes looked from my face to the ones behind him and he steeled himself before saying, "And who will be identifying the body?"

I spoke up before I lost it and tumble to the floor in sobs. I would not give in to this shady reality. It wasn't real. "We all are." I could hear hums of approval behind me along with Rosie's sobs.

"This way, please," the doctor said, instructing us to follow him down the sterile hall.

I hated this place. It smelt like a hospital. I hate hospitals. I hated being reminded how close to death we were. And Jamie's time was up because of a case.

I shouldn't be thinking like this because I was dreaming, but I couldn't help it. Maybe if I played along I would wake up faster.

I recalled not wanting Jamie to take the assignment. He was ready to marry Alice. We had the proposal done. The romantic surprise. I had helped before going on assignment. The Whitlock thing was looming around the department, but someone else could handle infiltrating them. Yes, Jamie was the best. He could talk his way into or out of any situation. His charm knew no fucking bounds.

We argued about it. I was so pissed at him. But Jamie won in the end. Rosie was the deal breaker. We couldn't pass up a chance to help her. She and Dad were CIA and were on the Whitlock's case because of rumors of them selling to a terrorist group. I was fucking pissed off when I heard. They were selling weapons to fucking terrorists?! I knew it was enough to convince Jamie. He wasn't going to leave his sister in there. He made the case appealing to Banner and in no time he was assigned to the case. He was going in from the FBI end to gather information on the gang. Useful information that could bring them down.

Rosie had been undercover with the gang for almost a year. Jamie thought it was time to end things. Since she was CIA, she shouldn't be sharing information. At least on the record. But our family worked together. Dad and she shared all the information they had on the Whitlocks with Jamie and me. I wasn't really into it, but I wanted to know in case shit went down. I hated that Jamie for taking an interest when he was so close to happiness, but I couldn't leave my sister hanging. I just couldn't get over wanting my brother to have that happy ending. The wife and kids and picket fence. I know I never would. I just never saw myself like that; happy with some guy and our kids. Jamie and Rosie though, I wanted it for them. They deserved it.

In the end, Jamie took the assignment. Director Banner appeared excited. If anyone could get what he wanted, it was Jamie.

An opportunity had presented itself to infiltrate the Chicago sector of the Whitlock gang which was ran by Jasper Whitlock, son and heir of the Whitlock empire that was ran by his father, Nicolai 'Nicky' Whitlock.

Rosie was already sitting comfortably in her position as right hand hacker to one of Jasper's closest friends, Emmett McCarty. McCarty was a notorious hacker and muscle who would kill for Jasper. Rosie was privileged to meetings and so forth because of her close link to Emmett. She was his girlfriend.

Hey, we did what had to do. For some reason though, I think Rosie cared for Emmett. But I couldn't focus on that now.

Jamie found a way in. He was working as a bartender in Jasper's club.

I don't know what went wrong. I was on assignment and had just gotten back when I got the news of his death.

Before that though, Jamie had called me from a secure phone a couple days before his…I could remember him telling me things have changed. I demanded to know what, but he wouldn't say. He only said things weren't what they seem. He said he found a reliable source. Someone who could put a stop to something big that was about to go down. I begged for more Intel but he had to go and said he would talk to me soon.

We would never speak again in this life.

"Love you, Honey Bee," he had said.

I had smiled at my nickname and used his in return. "Love you too, Scout." Jamie was the best tracker I had ever met. He taught me everything I knew. He could find a needle in a big ass haystack.

I was jolted back to my false reality by the bright lights of the morgue. We had been walking? I wasn't aware. Rosie was crying again. She had her arm wrapped around mine. When did that happen? I wasn't aware. The morgue was pristine and clean. Jamie would have made fun of it. He always knew how to make me laugh. He is…was a great big brother.

No. This dream was too real. I was tripping up on my words, saying "was" when I should say "is".

No. I have got to stick to the facts.

Rosie was next to me. Her perfect face was smeared with running mascara from all the tears she had shed. My big sister could rival the most beautiful women in the world. She could make men fall at her feet with a smile. I always told her as such and she would tell me I was just as beautiful. I never believed her. She always looked perfect. Hair in place, makeup well done, clothes fit like a glove.

Not tonight. Rosie wasn't perfect tonight. She was in baggy clothes, makeup was a mess, and she was wearing one of Jamie's leather jackets. She was a mess as she mourned the loss of a part of her soul.

I wanted to slap myself hard. No. I would not accept it. This was not happening.

Looking behind me, I saw Alice standing by the door next to the agent. I called her over. She nervously walked toward us and I grabbed her hand, squeezing it. "You're family. You should be here."

A sob escaped her and Rosie hugged her tight. This wasn't real. I wanted to wake up right now. I wanted Jamie to throw a jug of cold water on me. Where was he? Why wasn't he dragging me out of this nightmare?

I wanted to chase him around the house to exact my revenge for dumping cold water on me. I wanted to hear his laughter. I wanted to see his eyes twinkling with mischief and happiness. I wanted to see his bright smile.

I watched the doctor go over to the freezer. I held my breath, ready to wake up. Alice, mine and Rosie's breaths collectively caught as he grabbed the handle. We shakily edged forward as he opened it. I let out a gush of breath and then it quickened as the doctor wheeled out the slab with a body on it. It was covered by a white sheet. The seconds tick away as I watched in slow motion as the doctor's hand moved to the top of the sheet. I broke away from Rosie and Alice's grasp. They were speaking and crying but it was muted. Memories of happier times with my brother flash before my eyes on an imaginary movie reel at lightning speed. My heart pounded as the doctor raised the sheet when I neared and his solemn eyes met my shocked ones. He asked me something, but I don't hear a sound. My eyes moved from his to the stoic, lifeless ones of my big brother on the slab and I lost it.

It wasn't a dream. It was real. It was fucking real! I was fighting someone off. I punched someone. I was screaming. I let out blood curdling screams with all the strength I had until I collapsed to the floor. My body shuddered as loud sobs wracked me. I was gone. I wasn't here. I was in my head with a smiling Jamie while I chased him down the beach. We had gone to Hawaii one year. That's where I was. I was on that beach. Happy. With my big brother. My protector.

"It's okay, Bella," Alice whispered and I wanted to fucking hit her.

"No," I croaked. "It will never be okay." I looked up at her from my place on the floor. Her eyes were empty. She had lost so much. A life. A lover. A friend. I sat up on my knees and I took her face in my hands. "We're going to get them, Ally. They're fucking dead and they don't even know it."

"I know." She cried. I pulled her into a fierce hug, letting her cry. Letting her let it all go.

I don't know how, but we all got outside. I didn't remember much after holding Alice. I didn't care about working out anything. I don't know who signed whatever. Must have been Rosie. When I got outside, I ran to the nearest trashcan and threw up. I was a seasoned agent. I was damn good with any weapon thrown at me. I had killed. I had watched the light leave terrible men's eyes and I never faltered or felt any emotion. Yet, here I was, a wreck.

We dropped the agent who had escorted off at Headquarters and Alice took us to our rendezvous point in Port Angeles.

We found Dad inside the house. He had trashed it. He was sitting on the couch with a whiskey bottle in one hand and his nine millimeter in the other. His eyes were on fire. Not from the liquor but from the hunger for the Whitlock's blood. He and I were on the same page.

Dad had sworn to protect us. He would have given his life for Jamie. For any one of us. He was proud of us, but he was so resentful.

"I want you both out of the service," he said with a growl, pointing at me, Rosie and Alice. "Write your fucking resignations! Right the fuck now! I don't care if I have to hold a gun to your fucking heads! QUIT!" He bellowed.

Rosie shook with sobs. I was still crying. "Not before I kill them. Not before I make every one of them suffer," I said with conviction.

Dad's anger tripled. "The fuck you will!" He screamed at me. "You're quitting the FBI, Isabella! You too, Alice! Rosie, I'm getting you out. We'll fake your death or something."

Rosie and Alice looked to me for direction. Why did they think I was the strong one? Because I was answering questions and talking like I was holding it together? Did they not see how I lost it in the morgue moments ago?

"No," I said to Dad. "We're getting them first."

He laughed angrily. "Who's them, Isabella?!" He spat at him. I wanted to scream at him but he was grieving. He wasn't thinking clearly.

"Jasper and his friends, his father and his friends, their associates, their lovers, I don't give a fuck! I want them all dead!" I shouted. "I will get in there and I will kill ever last one of them!" I was towering over my father as he sat on the couch staring up at me in shock. "I am going to kill them. I just need help doing it."

No other words were needed. No more convincing.

After a plan was formulated, we got to work. We had a loving member of our family to bury and we had an enemy to destroy.

It was decided then I would take Jamie's place. It was my turn to get in good with the Whitlocks. I would do whatever was necessary to get close to Jasper. He was my primary target. Rosie was going back prepared to kill Emmett. My job was the boss, Jasper. Dad wanted to be worried about whatever was necessary would entail but I dismissed it. I didn't give a shit. I wanted to see the light leave that bastard's eyes. That was all that mattered. Alice would handle the FBI and getting me on the assignment. I was still worried about what Jamie was talking about when we last spoke, before he…died and I shared it with everyone. None of them had any idea what he was talking about. Rosie didn't know who offered themselves as a snitch for Jamie. She only knew Caius Volturi had died as well. It was rumored he was Jamie's snitch and he was going to rat out the Whitlocks but died before he could say anything informative.

It didn't feel like what Jamie meant. He wasn't talking about Caius.

Rosie sealed Jamie's file tight. She said Emmett was calling. She got rid of him. She knew he wanted to her back to Chicago so they could crack Jamie's file. She wasn't going to let him. I needed to get there before they learned about me and her. That Agent James Swan was our brother.

We left the plan until after Jamie's funeral.

We moved quickly and a couple days later we were putting my brother to rest. The funeral destroyed me. I was a shell of myself as they rolled his casket into the ground. I couldn't lie to myself anymore. This was real. My brother was gone.

There was a moment when I felt like I was being watched, but I pushed the suspicion away. There were a lot of people here. People who cared for my brother.

Rosie and I got into an argument after the funeral. It was a day later and she couldn't hold Emmett off any longer, she had to go back.

My problem with her was I saw her eyes while she spoke to him and I called her out on it. I wanted to rip his balls off through the phone, but Rosie looked like she wished he was in the room to hold her.

"You care about him!" I wanted to rip her hair out. I had always suspected but to see her acting like she needed him here while she told him some shit about her favorite cousin dying tragically was living proof!

"And you think you're going to leave Jasper unscathed?" She fired back. "He's a charmer. He's worst than Emmett. But I know my job and when the time comes, it will be no cushy ride for Emmett McCarty. I'm gonna put a bullet between his eyes."

At least she had her head screwed on straight. "That's good to know. Jasper may be a charmer, but I can handle my own, Rosie. I will take him down. The FBI might want something else, but the motherfucker is going to pay for taking Jamie from us!"

We parted ways, ready to put our plan in motion.

 **Three days later, FBI Headquarters…**

"With all due respect, Sir, I want to be on this case." Director Banner sighed exasperatedly, but I went on, "I have to bring Agent Swan's killer to justice, Sir."

"I know you want to, Swan, but I think you're too close to the case," he said sympathetically. "This is your brother we're talking about here. You are too emotionally invested in this. You can't be on this case."

"I can do this, Sir!" I shouted. He looked up at me, knitting his brows, but I didn't give a shit. This had to happen. I needed to get in.

Rosie was already back in Chicago. Dad was close, watching her back. Alice was working with me. She had a friend in Psych lie about me being fit for the field. I would need serious therapy when this was through. I was all kinds of crazy right now. But that shit was on a back burner until Jasper and his family was in their graves.

My only problem now was getting Director Banner to allow me to take my brother's place on his last assignment of infiltrating the Whitlocks to gather information we could use to take them down.

Yeah right.

Director Banner leaned back in his chair, placing his hands across his chest. He looked pensive for a minute before he said, "And if I send you in, how can I be sure you won't mess things up?"

What the fuck? When have I ever failed an assignment?

I bit back that particular retort. I want to stay on his kind, sympathetic side so he will say yes. "Fine. Send Agent Brandon in with me, Sir. She knows how to handle me. I don't want an amateur working with me anyways. Agent Brandon will let you know if I'm about to mess up."

"Oh really?" he said incredulously. "You're telling me who you want to work with."

I was pushing my luck, but I needed Alice. I had to be on this case and I would. I was that confident. No one else will go near it. An agent had died. It was a tainted assignment. "I'm not, Sir. But I'm perfect for this, and Agent Brandon is ready and willing to go in with me no matter what. Plus, I've already gone over Agent Swan's notes and I even know of a good entry point to this gang. Jasper needs two people to work in his club. I think he's trying to fill the position James left vacant upon his death. Jasper is a businessman, or at least, it's a good front. He'll want to return to that right away. He's probably freaking out about what we could be thinking about doing to him."

"Are you saying a Whitlock fears us?" Director Banner looked like he wanted to laugh. The Whitlocks track record spoke for itself. Especially Jasper's even though we couldn't link any of the murders to him. He and his family were ruthless. No one went up against them and lived to tell the tale. I would be going up against my biggest adversary.

"I'm saying they don't want us poking around now with the death of an agent on their hands. Imagine if I linked Agent Swan's death to them? The press would have a field day. We could bring them down. The FBI would be glorified."

"I'm not interested in being glorified, Swan," Director Banner said, but his eyes said differently. This case would make careers. I wasn't interested in promotions but people like Banner were. To take down the Whitlocks would be the greatest victory for the FBI and whoever caught them redhanded would be hailed.

Too bad I wasn't going to allow the Whitlocks to walk away alive.

"I know that, Sir, but for some other agent, it would be the talk of the bureau to take down the Whitlocks."

Banner's eyes glittered and a smirk crossed his face before he wiped it off. "You have a point," he said in agreement. "So a spot opened up and you think you can get in that way?"

"I know I can."

He looked thoughtful for another minute. "Did you go through Psych?"

"Already did, Sir." Alice and I were one step ahead of him. I was ready for duty around to my fake Psych Evaluation report from Alice's buddy. According to it, I passed with flying colors.

Banner sighed. "Alright Swan, let me speak with Psych and I'll let you know."

"Yes, Sir," I said dejectedly. He needed to think I was worried. I wasn't. We were ready for this.

I made my way over to his door, but as soon as I grabbed the knob, turning it, the director said, "I want to solve this, Bella. James was a damn good agent and I want his killer behind bars. I'll get back to you by the end of the day if not before."

"Yes, Sir."

I walked out of his office with a smirk. The director wanted this solved. Jamie's killer was to be caught. The determination in his eyes when he said so was motivating.

Director Banner called me back to his office by three o clock that evening. I was to take my brother's place and infiltrate the Whitlock gang, gather evidence, and bring in my brother's killer. Alice was assigned as my liaison.

I smiled something wicked as I left Headquarters. Jasper Whitlock wouldn't know what hit him.

 **Next: New Arrivals…**


	3. The Boys are in Town

**Now we find out who went to Jamie's funeral. There are a lot of things to consider on Jasper's part. How will he do this? He thinks he can handle Bella. Can he?**

 **Thanks for the reviews!**

* * *

 _ **Jasper, Chicago, 2006…**_

She was more beautiful than I anticipated. Breathtaking. Even in the midst of her grief. Her long, brown wavy hair was a curtain around her heart shaped face as she kneeled by the grave watching the grave diggers lower James' casket into the ground.

While I watched I was torn apart. For some reason, I wanted to go to her. To comfort her. To make her pain go away even though I knew I never could. I had been the cause. I may not have pulled the trigger but I was there. I was there and I should have stopped it.

Every time I think about my last conversation with James, I could clearly see him pointing it all out to me. The shit I couldn't see it until it was too late. The shit that finally made sense when I was standing in the middle of one of my warehouses looking down at James' bloodied, broken body. His eyes had said it all. "I told you. It's too late for me. Make her understand when the time comes."

What the fuck?

I slammed my fist down on my desk and got up. I needed a drink. Something strong to calm my fucking nerves. I had gotten back from my little trip to Washington days ago and it still felt like I was there watching them bury James. Why did he matter so much to me? Why did she? Why was I nervous? I knew she was coming and I could do this. I could lie. I had been lying to myself all my fucking life. What difference did it make now?

I poured myself some whiskey and downed the first glass like water on a hot day before pouring another, downing it and then pouring myself yet another.

Yeah that was good. I could feel the burn in my chest and the relief in my gut.

I thought about her smile in picture on the wall at the place they met as a family. I wanted her to smile like that for me.

Wait, what?

I poured myself another glass.

What the fuck was I thinking? This was going to be nothing like that. Then again, why couldn't I have a little fun before it all went down? Who the fuck could stop me?

 _I sat across from James. He poured us some Jack and handed me the paper cup. I looked it and back at him._

" _Don't fucking look at me like that, Whitlock. Just drink the shit. You like it." I downed the drink while James absently said he didn't get why he and I had to like the same fucking drink._

" _I don't know either. Why are we here?" It was a cozy little house. We were in Port Angeles, Washington because James wanted to talk._

 _He scowled at me. "As I told you before, this is the safest place to talk."_

" _So where are we exactly? I know we're in a house. I know we're in Port Angeles, outside of Seattle."_

" _This is where my family and I meet to talk. Are we covered?" He wanted to know if I told my people anything._

" _Leah won't say shit."_

 _I took Leah. She hated that we had to keep this from everyone, but she wouldn't say shit. She trusted me with her life and I wouldn't let her down._

 _James wasn't sure. "Are you sure? I'm taking a huge fucking risk on your ass but things are bigger than you and me now."_

" _Leah is family. Family I can trust with my deepest secrets. The only one maybe. I wasn't about to leave her out of this. We've come too far together." I took my eyes off of him to look around the place. I could hear him pouring some more Jack. What the fuck made him so nervous? I already knew he was FBI and I was handing myself to him on a silver fucking platter. With a deal of course. I wasn't about to go to prison forever. I could do time. That was all prison was to me. Time. But forever was asking too much. James wasn't going to use half the shit he had on me. He knew I did the crime. Committed the murders. I never killed innocents. I hated punks who went after innocent women and kids. I would slap a guilty broad though. Don't fucking think I was about to let anyone walk over me. I respected women, but some bitches I knew, like Jane, weren't…well, I didn't even consider them human. They were too cruel to be flesh and blood._

 _I got up and started walking around._

" _Yeah, make yourself at home," James said sarcastically. "Bee is gonna kill me." He went on to whisper as my eyes caught sight of her in the photograph. She was so fucking beautiful my cock jumped to life._

 _What the hell? Who was she?_

" _That's her you're gawking at."_

 _I snapped my mouth shut._

" _She's Bella." He sighed sadly. "If things don't work out for me, she's coming after you."_

 _I looked at him and chuckled. The girl with the long brown hair and wide smile on her pretty face looked harmless. "She's coming after me to pound on my chest with her little fists and ask me why?"_

 _James offered me my cup of Jack and drank his. I put the cup to my lips and started drinking as he said, "Bella, Honey Bee, as I like to call her, is as lethal as they come. She's fucking great with any weapon thrown at her." He sounded like a proud papa bear. "She's a sight to behold with guns though. She loves a good handgun. Don't give her weak shit like .22s. She'll beat you with it. She loves a Beretta, a nine millimeter can soothe her or a glock if she's feeling funky. High powered weapons are a walk in the park for her. She's also good with knives. From the kitchen ones to daggers, you name it, she can throw it. But her secret feisty is hand to hand combat. She loves taking guys half her size down. She breaks necks. Your friend Emmett should watch out when she strikes. Garrett, since he's as lethal as her, she's gonna love fighting him."_

 _I swallowed the last of my drink. "Why are you telling me this?"_

 _He gave me a cold, hard stare. If I wasn't as dangerous as he was, it would have sent a shiver down my spine. We weren't friends. We were two men stuck in an unfortunate situation which forced us to rely on each other. "You're who she'll save for last. It won't be pretty. She'll take her time with you."_

" _You're saying she won't turn me over to the FBI?"_

 _James looked me dead in the eye. "If I don't make it out, and Bella gets to take over for me on this assignment, she will not leave until you're all dead."_

James was so sure of shit he told me. He had concrete evidence too. Evidence I now had. When he took me to his family's meeting place in Port Angeles, he showed me he trusted me for some weird reason. What FBI agent would reveal himself as much as James did?

" _Why did you take me to your family's place?"_

" _Why do you keep asking the same thing? You're as annoying as Honey Bee." You could tell he loved his little sister. He spoke of her with fondness._

" _So I'm like a chick?" I teased._

 _He laughed at me. "Your humor and sarcasm is going to piss her off. She'll want to strangle you the moment you open your mouth."_

" _You're talking like you're dead. I can get you out."_

 _He didn't answer me._

" _Charlie and Rosalie won't compromise themselves until the case is over. They'll be watching though."_

 _Great. I had a sadistic family on my back. Fuck if little Bella wasn't beautiful though. She was making me think all kinds of shit I usually avoided._

" _I won't reveal Rose."_

" _I know," James said._

 _Not that I didn't. I was betraying Emmett. He fucking loved her. I wasn't into the love shit, but I wanted my friends to be happy. This was going to crush him._

 _Leah was already dreading Edward walking away from her for this, but she said she would give him up, if it meant he lived._

 _So many secrets. I had the weight of the world on my fucking shoulders. All these secrets._

 _Then James told me I was suppose to die._

" _They'll give Aro the order. He will be the one to take you out."_

 _Fucking Aro Volturi had our family in deep with a bunch of fucked up Russian terrorists so he could get rid of us and take over. It was always that bastard's dream to run the family. His was destroyed by the Chekovs, which was why I was surprised he had convinced Pop to go into dealings with them. We were in deep. When it all came down on our heads, the Whitlocks would go down with the Chekovs._

 _I knew I had to pay for my crimes but Michael shouldn't have to pay. Peter, Char, Leah, Edward, Emmett, they didn't need to sink with me._

 _I was adamant about that to James when I presented my deal. I still don't know why he approached me and revealed himself. He had yet to tell me his reason. I just took a chance. One I hoped like hell would pay off for the ones I cared about. Pops was going to hate me. So the fuck what? We already had a fucked up relationship since I learned to say dada._

" _They won't look here because they can't find it."_

" _What if I remember the way?"_

" _Your problem. If you want your plan to work then…" He let the rest of his sentence hang in the air. He knew he had me there._

 _It was more than that but I don't pressure him. James didn't like to share his reasons. He was a man of action. I could respect that._

" _What about Bella?" I had to admit, the thought of her excited me. When James told me how badass his little sister was, I nearly came. Where had she been all my fucking life? I wanted to know her. I wanted to talk her. It was a pity we would never our true selves._

All the fucking thinking was giving me a headache. My eyes were closing, and tomorrow wasn't going to be a good day.

As I walked to my bedroom with a glass of Jack in my hand, I thought about all the deceit. All the lies. All the guilty parties that brought us here. I should be going down for the shit I did. Not some fucked up, delusional fuck's greed.

Life's a bitch.

I threw the Jack down my throat and swallowed with a loud grunt. It hit the spot. Stripping out my clothes as my bed got closer, well I was walking toward the motherfucker so it would be closer, I collapsed across it and shut my eyes after putting my gun under my pillow.

 _The sun shone down on me, warming me with its glow. Mom ran her hand through my hair, and I caught her eye, smiling at her, happy that she was here with me. She looked sympathetically at me before saying, "You didn't want him to die, did you?"_

 _Her voice held such emotion it nearly brought a tear to my eye. Being here with Mom was what I needed. She always understood me best. Pop told me what he wanted me to be, but Mom…she got me. "He loves you though," she said as if she could read my mind. "He just has a hard time showing love without seeming soft."_

 _I scoffed. "I'm his kid. It shouldn't be hard for him. I'm not going to like a hard ass around my kids."_

" _You want kids?" Mom smiled._

" _You know I do."_

" _I know you do," she smiled again and then sighed. "But your father is a part of you too, and you two need to learn to love each other better without me there." She was right. Mom was the glue that kept our family together. Without her, Pop and I drifted apart enough to make people think we hated each other. Maybe we did. I didn't want to talk about this. I wanted this dream to be about me and her._

" _Then it will be about you and me," she said, freaking me out with the weird mind reading shit._

 _She raised an eyebrow at me. "Don't cuss at me, Jasper."_

 _Freaky! "I'm sorry."_

" _Now, tell why you didn't want James to die?" I looked at her, stunned she even knew his name. "We know these things here, sweetie," she smiled._

" _You make it sound like you've met him."_

" _So what if I have?" she retorted with a small smirk._

" _Nothing. He was a good man. I could tell."_

" _He was." She sighed sadly. "It's a shame. I thought…" She didn't say anymore._

" _Yeah," I added. Not saying any more either._

 _She ran her hand through my hair absentmindedly as we sat there not talking for a while._

 _I turned to really look at her. She was as pretty as the last time I had seen her. Nothing had changed._

 _Tanya Denali was always a beautiful woman with breathtaking features. It made her the most sought after model during her time. Before marrying my dad, Mom was one of the top supermodels in the world, but she gave it all up for love and family. Not that she regretted it. No matter how many times I asked, she always said she wouldn't have any other way. We were her life._

 _As a child I was happy to hear that. As a snarky teenager, I thought it was just something she told herself to feel better about leaving a jet setting career behind for a husband and two rude ass kids._

 _Mom pulled on my hair. "Oww!"_

" _Don't insult my decisions, Jasper Whitlock. Nicky, you and your brother are the best thing that could ever happen to me."_

 _Damn mind reading bullshit!_

 _She pulled on it again. "Exactly, damn mind reading bullshit!" She chuckled, "But really, Jasper, I never felt bad about leaving modeling behind. You, your brother and your father brought a lot of joy to my life. You guys completed me."_

" _That sounds cheesy, Mom."_

 _She pinched my cheek. "Don't insult your mother, you cheeky punk. You're lucky I love you."_

 _I smiled at her. "I am."_

" _Do you remember when we took that trip?"_

" _Yeah."_

 _Mom took me and my little brother, Michael, on a European tour; showing us all the places she once visited._

" _It was a great trip," I said, smiling genuinely at her. It was an amazing experience to see the world through her eyes and watch her face light up as she pointed out and explained a particularly favorite place of hers._

" _Well, I wanted to share that with my boys," Mom insisted. "It wasn't because I missed it. I was happy to know I had something to share with you guys."_

" _Okay."_

" _Believe me?" She bumped my shoulder with hers._

" _Yes." I smiled._

 _Looking at her now, here in our favorite park, she didn't look like the mom who had lost the weight while she went through her last days with ovarian cancer. The woman who sat beside me resembled the mom I grew up with. The one who loved me and my brother unconditionally; the mom who was always there for us…no matter what. The gorgeous, healthy mom who loved life. Her sparkling turquoise eyes seemed to twinkle as she smiled._

" _I love you too, Jasper. Now tell me why you didn't want Jamie to die?"_

" _Jamie?"_

" _It's what Bella calls him."_

" _How do you know about her?"_

 _She smiled._

" _Forget the question. I didn't want him to die because he was going to help me. With him on my side, I would have sabotaged Aro's plans and maybe use the Kovac family to get things done. They're more respected and feared in the Russian community. They could help me with what I had planned."_

" _They could get rid of the Chekovs."_

" _Yes."_

" _The Chekovs are parasites. They feed until there is nothing left. They conquer families. Kill leaders and take over. Pop was dumb to make a deal with them, now we're stuck. With the FBI and the CIA watching, when they go down, we're going with them."_

" _And Aro?" Mom said with a disdain I could understand. Aro wasn't her favorite person. When she was alive, she hated him. For reasons, she has never shared. "Let that rest. It's the past for me."_

" _Not for me. I'll find out why you hated him."_

" _I know," she whispered. "What will you do with Aro?"_

" _I can't just tell Pop. He won't believe me. He'll think it's because I hate Aro. He thinks the sun rises and sets on Aro's words when it comes to the Chekovs because the Volturi family dealt with them."_

" _Do you think there's anyone you can trust?"_

 _I looked her dead in the eye. "Besides the obvious, No." She knew about Leah. She said she knew things here. Wherever we really were._

 _Mom smirked. "You'd be surprised who can trust."_

" _What does that mean?"_

" _You'll see."_

 _Mom got up and walked away from our bench, stopping short of me. With her hands clasped behind her back, she stared out at the people in front of us as they laughed and engaged each other in conversation. "This was what I wanted your life to be like, you know?" she said, not meeting my eyes as a gentle wind blew toward us. It caressed my face while it lifted the edge of Mom's long, flowing white summer dress, making it cavort around her ankles._

" _Why?" I questioned. "Didn't you know what Pop did? Who the Whitlocks were?"_

 _She turned to me, a smile playing on her lips, but did not reach her eyes. "I knew who Nicky was. I guess I had this fantasy where his life and his choices would somehow not affect you or your brother. That Nicky wouldn't want you two in his world." The concern in her voice was…heartwarming. Even in a dream, she still held the same compassion I had come to know over the years. It made me proud to call Tanya Denali, my mother._

 _I looked at the people as her eyes grew sympathetic. "Well, I didn't escape it and I'll have to live with that."_

" _Yet, you were remorseful when Jane killed James?" Mom countered._

 _My anger grew at her implication. "Yes!" I sprang up and shouted; finally expressing what I should have that night. "I can't forget it. I've killed before, Mom, and they don't haunt me like this. Every time I close my eyes, I either see you or I'm standing in my warehouse, looking down at James's body."_

" _See…" she said calmly. "I didn't want that life for you. I fought with your father when he wanted to start grooming you to take over the Chicago part of it," she chuckled, lost in thought. "I hated him for it."_

 _I did remember their arguments. I was only sixteen at the time and Dad wanted me to accompany him to 'meetings'. Though, I knew that all those 'uncles' and 'aunts' I had met over the years weren't so legit. What I didn't know was how dangerous they really were until those gatherings._

" _I hated that you hung around them," Mom shared strongly._

" _I wished I didn't either," I told her and watched her face become crestfallen. "But I am what I am now. It's too late to change."_

 _She walked back to me, but it was more like she floated to my side. We both sat down. "It's not too late." There she went again with the cryptic shit._

" _Jasper Whitlock!" she said through gritted teeth. "Don't you dare cuss at me, boy!"_

 _I remembered my place immediately and apologized. "I'm sorry, Ma'am."_

 _I was being scolded by my dead mother in a dream. A psychiatrist would have a field day with this._

" _No," she smirked. "They would have a field day with the fact that your dead mother wanted to put you across her knee and teach you a thing or two about manners."_

" _And ruin your perfect nails?" I laughed. My mother was always the picture of perfection; not a strand of hair was ever out of place, and her nails were always immaculately done._

" _It has never stopped me before," she countered with a snide grin._

 _True. When it came to disciplining us, her pristine look never stopped her. Mom wanted to raise me and Michael with the upmost obedience._

" _I raised gentlemen," she stated proudly. She arched a brow at me, daring me to challenge her._

 _I wasn't about to correct her._

 _She looked off again, staring out at the people and smiled knowingly. I glanced away from her for a second, taking in the park again. It held fond memories for me. It was where Mom used to take me and Michael when we were kids._

 _Every Sunday afternoon, we would come to this park, and Mom would get us ice cream cones. We would eat them and then just hang out for a while, pretending that our bodyguards weren't far away._

" _She's coming, you know," she stated matter-of-factly, breaking the silence._

" _Really? Who?" I joked, but she just cocked a brow at me and smirked._

" _Bella." She smiled. "You won't even see it coming."_

" _Seeing is believing. And I know she's coming. James said she would." I challenged and she laughed._

" _So sorry I taught you that," she chuckled but then grew serious again. "Jasper, you will have to teach her to love. She won't be happy. At least, she won't admit it. You'll have to fight to get her to feel. She believes only her family cares about her. You'll have to show her otherwise. She's so like you, yet, so different."_

 _What the hell I'm supposed to do with that?_

" _Mom, when Bella is through with me, I'll be here…with you."_

 _She looked at me; sadness coloring her face. "You're so easy to give up. To give in. Miracles happen every day you know."_

" _Not for the damned, Mom," I told her. "I'll be dead. Bella is coming to kill me. I'll play my part. I'll let her inside. But she will be the end of me. In a way, I prefer her. At least it won't be Aro."_

" _You could love each other?" Mom shrugged. She wanted to sound hopeful. I could tell._

" _Love?" I chuckled darkly. "What do I know about love?"_

 _Her face fell and she mumbled, looking down at her hands. "I'd like to think your father and I were good enough examples. You said you wanted kids. I assume you would want a wife too."_

 _When she met my probing eyes, I watched as her blue ones sparkled when the sun hit them._

 _I sighed. "I do and you and Pop were good examples, but, Mom, it's too late for me. I won't have it. Bella…"_

" _Will be with you soon enough." She finished with a chuckle as if she knew something I didn't._

" _What is it?"_

" _Oh nothing," Mom said cryptically._

" _Yeah, it's something," I laughed. "So come on, tell me, what is it?"_

 _Her eyes bore into mine, and her open smile made me feel loved. "She reminds me of myself in a way; challenging, fiery and won't stand for crap."_

 _I smiled remembering how challenging Mom was for Pop sometimes. "She will be quite a challenge for you."_

" _I can bet." I chuckled and shook my head. "I have been with many beautiful women."_

" _But none are like her," she said._

" _I'm really beginning to hate that," I said, referring to the weird psychic shit Mom was doing._

 _Mom chuckled, "I know. But it's so much fun. Another thing I love about her is even with that cocky attitude of yours, you'll always be there for her. You'll love no other the way you love her. She'll never love another man the way she loves you. She fears nothing."_

" _That's a lot to take in. I'm about to fall for a hardheaded woman and neither one of us will love another person the way we loved each other. Oh really?" I said sarcastically._

" _Bella will know you," she chuckled as if I hadn't spoken. "Inside and out. She won't stand for less than the truth. She won't take your bull. But Jasper…" The smile faded and she grew cross with me. For a second I thought I should apologize, but it wasn't me who upset her, it was something else. "He'll try to steal them from you. You'll have to fight to get back to them. Hold on to the love and let it guide you back to her."_

" _What?" I asked confusedly, but Mom didn't answer. She merely smiled and looked back out at the people in the park. Just then, two little girls ran by. One had brown hair, shiny and bouncing along her lower back as she ran after the other girl, a blond with the same length hair. Both girls were smiling brightly as they played before us. Mom chuckled, "They'll be beautiful, won't they?" I turned to her, ready to ask what she meant, but as she faded before my eyes as she repeated, "Hold on to the love and let it guide you back to her."_

I woke with a start. The sun was up and streams of it crept into my room from beneath the thick drapes. I ran my hand over my face, trying to wake myself up.

 _Another dream of Mom._ Since James' death, they had become frequent.

Emmett still couldn't find out anything concrete about the guy. Rosalie had gotten back into town after something with a cousin.

I liked the excuse. Rosalie was good. She stuck to her lies. You couldn't see through them.

James had told me they were all trained well. Their father didn't leave anything to chance.

I could learn a thing or two from a man like that. But he wanted to string me up by the balls for getting his son killed.

A knock sounded at my door, and her voice came through, muffled. "You better be up, Jasper."

Charlotte was a slave driver, and sometimes, it felt like I worked for her instead of the other way around. I loved her efficiency though. She kept me on my toes.

Chuckling to myself, I shook my head and got up. I couldn't get the dream out of my head. I couldn't stop thinking about Bella. When was she coming? When would we start this dance? Why was I thinking about one broad so fucking much? What the fuck was wrong with me? I was a hardened criminal. I didn't have time for some bullshit fairy tale love story Mom desperately wanted me to have. I was Jasper Antoni Whitlock. The sub head of the Whitlock crime family. I ran the Chicago division and oversaw all our arms dealing business and the financial outcome of our many businesses. I didn't bow down to anyone. They kneeled before me. I feared no one. They feared me.

As for women, I could have any of them I want. They were at my disposal. I should thank my parents for my looks. They aided me in the fucking around department. I didn't do relationships. I only wanted these women to relieve myself and that was it. I didn't allow any of them to sleep over if I didn't just fuck them in the office at the club.

I didn't run down pussy, it was offered to me on a daily basis.

Charlotte knocked again, making me jump. "Get moving, Jasper!" I chuckled and shook my head. I never had a problem with Charlotte addressing me informally. She was one of the guys. If another woman did it without my consent, that would be another story.

"I'm up!"

"Good," she yelled back as I scrambled off the bed. "Get in the shower. I'll bring breakfast." Knowing Charlotte, she has been over here since the crack of dawn waiting on me to get up.

In the shower, I scrubbed my body while trying to forget the dream. That shit stuck with me. It wasn't even the part about Mom. It was the two little girls. I felt like I knew them. And what the hell was Mom going on about holding on to the love and letting it guide me back.

I couldn't do that shit. I couldn't fall for James' sister. My supposed executioner. Why would I be dumb enough to fall for a broad who wanted to kill me? Jasper Whitlock didn't do the love thing. I didn't fall in love. I wasn't looking to settle down. I didn't want anyone to leave behind.

Mom was mistaken. This was going to play out the way I intend. We would all get what we wanted.

With the decision made, I got out of my shower, wrapped a towel around my waist, and grabbed another one, running it through my hair. Glancing at myself in the mirror, I was mildly surprised by the reflection that gazed back. The man in the mirror looked so much older than my twenty seven years. His eyes held knowledge and experience and pain. It made me wonder what my life would have been like if I hadn't followed in my father's footsteps.

What would I have become? Would I have been a doctor? A lawyer? An accountant? I loved money and I knew what to do with it. I ran a club and was a restaurateur. Would I have been satisfied? Or maybe I would have been a financial advisor for some major corporation.

Who knew? The fact was I didn't choose that road. I didn't try to walk away from this life, because it was the family business and I wanted Pop to be proud of me. I craved his respect.

I knew my mother would have supported whatever decision I made, but Pop, he would have fought until he got me to give it up and join him.

You didn't turn your back on family.

No one went against Nicky Whitlock, not even his own kids. My father was one of the most feared and revered crime bosses in the country. No one crossed Nicky Whitlock and lived to tell the tale. And as his first born, I was expected to be my father's son.

In the crime world, I was. I was as feared and respected as he was. I was lethal. When I look back on what I had done to get to where I was today, I realized I had more than succeeded. I was notorious. A killer. A businessman. A monster. And anyone who had a problem with that could go suck a dick.

At times when I remembered, my parents and how in love they were, I felt like I wanted it. I wanted someone to love me as much as I loved them. I wanted a wife, kids, the whole works. But I would dash the thought, because as I said, I didn't want to leave anyone behind.

I ran a hand through my short brunette hair. It was growing out. It needed to be cut. Charlotte would handle it. I didn't trust anybody else to touch my hair. She was the one who gave me this hairstyle anyways.

I was a natural blond like my mom up until when I was nineteen years old and lost her to cancer. Everything in my life went downhill from there. I was rebellious and sought to hurt anybody who got in my way. My dad allowed me to be the demon I wanted to be, calling it my way of grieving.

A couple nights after her funeral, I drank a bottle of Jack, some beers, maybe some Vodka, I don't really remember all the shit I drank or the drugs I took. I just know I went in the bathroom, saw my shaggy blond hair and butchered it with a knife because it reminded me of my mother. I was in pain and I selfishly blamed her for getting sick and dying and leaving me here.

Peter and Charlotte found me passed out on my bathroom floor. Charlotte fixed my hair after they got me sobered up.

"We need to get a move on," Charlotte said in a sing song voice.

I sighed and swung the door open to her. I eyed her slender body with open pleasure because it freaked her out when I looked her like that. She was always threatening to have Peter kick my ass for it. But what could I say? I couldn't deny how sexy she looked in her tight navy blue suit.

She jumped away and cocked an eyebrow at me; briefly looking down at my half naked body. "If you need some time to handle…" She looked down at my towel clad body and then back up at my eyes. "…certain business, I'll wait outside." She loved to joke around.

"You know, if you want to see me naked, all you have to do is ask." She made a face so I dropped my towel and turned away with a smile when I heard her gasp as I walked over to my chest of drawers, butt naked. I pulled out a pair of boxer briefs and put them on. I turned to her with a broad smile.

Charlotte chuckled and shook her in disappointment at me. "You're such a pig, Jasper. You're lucky Peter isn't here."

I scoffed and Charlotte rolled her eyes at me.

"Yeah, but you love me anyways."

I stalked over to her and roughly pulled her into my arms, making her let out a little squeal. "Jasper! Behave yourself!" I kissed her neck then buried my face in her neck, relishing in the sweet smelling perfume she had on. She complained until I let her go.

"I'm gonna tell my husband on you, you punk." She laughed.

"Whatever."

I moved toward my closet but Charlotte beat me to it to pick out what she thought I should wear today. I had to admit…I liked her choice. The black Gucci suit and white dress shirt with no tie, was how I was feeling today.

Next, she left me to go and get my breakfast tray. "Want your schedule for the day?" she said as she strolled back in. She placed the tray on my bed.

I pulled on my pants and picked up my coffee for a sip. I took a bite of my breakfast and groaned. Kate was damn good at her job. All her chef school shit really paid off. Garrett was so fucking proud of her. Kate was an amazing cook and great at keeping secrets like her grandmother, Mrs. Cope, God rest her soul. Mrs. Cope was like a second mother to me when I was growing up.

"Sure. What have you got for me?" I mumbled, enjoying my breakfast.

Charlotte quirked an eyebrow at me for stuffing my face with my food, but otherwise said nothing. "First thing…I need to do your hair."

"You make me sound like a chick."

"You want to go back to being blonde?"

I flashed her a hard look and she averted her eyes. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

"Yeah," I said gruffly.

"I need to give you a trim and color it. I can have it done in no time."

"What else?" I asked as I took another bite of my crepes.

"Emmett is here to speak with you." Charlotte's eyes held concern. I knew she was preparing herself for me to explode in anger. Charlotte and the others thought I was upset because Emmett hadn't been able to crack James' personal file yet. And I had to keep up the pretense.

I finished my breakfast. "What else?"

Charlotte cleared her throat, the concerned look still on her face. This wouldn't be good. "Your father is coming in today and he's bringing Michael with him."

"Fuck!" I sprang up from my bed and started pacing the room. Not now. I knew what the old man was doing. He was grooming Michael. I didn't want this. It should end with me. I didn't want my little brother to be nothing like me and Pop, but the punk didn't want to anything else. He found our lifestyle glamorous. He was already a badass. The boy could fucking kill you with his fists alone, but it should end there.

"What the fuck happened?" I heard Emmett ask as he stormed into my room.

Charlotte was answering him but I tuned them out. I needed to try and convince Michael one more time to find something else to do with his life.

"You got into his file yet?" I asked Emmett while putting on my shirt. Charlotte promptly told me to take it off.

Fuck. My hair. I forgot. I took it back off.

"No. Rosie is doing all she can," Emmett said.

I bet she was. Every fucking thing to block him.

"Well, try harder. I want to know everything about this guy. I want to know how deep the rabbit hole goes," I told Emmett. I gave him a hard glare. "I want to fucking know why an FBI agent's file would be tighter than a virgin's pussy!"

"I'll get it done," Emmett said gruffly. He didn't like to fail. This was bothering him, and as a friend, it pissed me off because I couldn't help him. I couldn't put my weight on his shoulders.

This was my cross to bear.

"Every time I try, I get to his name and then I'm out."

"Is it a virus?"

"Yeah and a damn good one. I've never seen anything like it." Emmett sounded impressed. "But I'll figure it out, Jasper."

"You do that."

"Who the hell is this guy?" Emmett hissed. "There was something was up with that guy, Jasper."

"Yeah," I said noncommittally with a shrug. "Whatever it was, you'll find it and I'll use it against whoever he left behind. He didn't fall out of the sky. He had to have family." I put as much trust as I could muster in my answer.

"Yeah."

"What's up with Mike coming to town?"

I gave Emmett a look.

"I know. I know," he said. "But the kid wants in, Jasper, and he's not taking no for an answer. I think it's better you take him under your wing than let the old man do it. Uncle Nicky would just take him on a job and pop a guy in the head for fucking with the business and then tell Michael that's how shit is done."

Emmett had a point.

"You've got a little more finesse. You're a fucking beast, but you know how to tone it down long enough to be civil. Michael needs to learn structure and the balance you've mastered over the years."

It felt good to be admired. I was fucking good at what I do. "I'll think about it." I could teach Michael if I wanted. I just didn't want to. I wanted one of us to make it out.

"Think fast."

"Yeah."

Emmett left and Charlotte came back in. "You ready?"

"Ready."

I was in the back of my black SUV being driven by Leah. Peter and Charlotte were with me and Garrett was following on his bike. After my trim and coloring job, we left the penthouse. I checked on things at two of my warehouses and now we were heading to my club.

"I think I have to kick your ass," Peter said smoothly. I hated how cool the fucker sounded sometimes. Like shit didn't bother him. I looked at Charlotte and caught her staring at me through the rearview mirror. I smirked and winked at her.

"For what?"

"Harassing Charlotte. I have to defend her honor."

"I'd like to see you try. Plus, she'd love to see two guys fighting over her."

Charlotte pouted and started to mumble while I laughed at her.

I needed this. A good laugh before the worse part of my day began. Not only was Pop coming with Michael. Aro and Jane were coming too. After the James incident, I ran their asses out of town. Aro went and bitched to Pop about it. Now he was coming back to town. Sometimes, I wished the old man would listen to me. His friend was not to be trusted.

I knew more than anyone why, but if I told Pop, he would fuck everything up. I had to let it play out this way.

I didn't need to go to the club. I just preferred it. I would be working from there for a while in the coming weeks. I had an office in the penthouse and I knew Mike was already at the club. As its manager and my head bartender, he could get things done. I also didn't want Aro and his bitch in my home any longer than they had to be. So all meetings would be conducted at the club.

I could trust Mike to keep things under control while I carried out business in the areas designed for it such as my boardroom and the special part of my basement for the fuckers who thought they were smarter than me.

Mike and I go way back. He was in our crew in New York. Between him, myself, Peter, Emmett and Garrett, we got into a lot of trouble as kids. He was a rich kid who was cool to hang with. When his folks, the Maloney's, were assassinated when I had just taken over the Chicago sector of our family business, Mike lost it. His life became chaos. He spiraled down into drugs and booze. I stood by him. Got him to rehab. Got him cleaned up and flew him out to Chicago. He stayed and pledged his life to me. I found the traitors who offed his folks and showed them what happened when you fuck with an associate of the Whitlocks.

My cell was ringing. I handed it to Charlotte. "I don't feel like talking."

She answered it. It was a bunch of "mmhmms" and "oh uhs" before she hung up. "It's Mike. There are a lot of women waiting to be interviewed for the bartending position."

"Shit." I forgot about that. I was filling James' place. Today was rapidly going from bad to worse. Not only was Pop coming with his entourage, Bella was coming too. I could feel it in my fucking bones.

All of a sudden, the thought of her made my heart race. What the fuck? I resolved this. I wasn't going to let her in. Sure, I thought she was hot. Had a great little body, but I wouldn't let her get too close. I would help her succeed in her assignment. That was it. I had faced the world's worst. Why should one girl scare me? Because, like a fucking idiot, I cared for her.

"Jasper, are you okay?"

"What?" I asked Charlotte as Leah pulled to a stop in front of the club. Fuck! The line started outside!

"I'm okay."

Charlotte took my word for it and got out. Peter smiled and gave me a nod before following her out of the car, leaving Leah's probing eyes on me.

"What the fuck?"

She laughed. "Get together, Jas. If you're this frazzled now, when your dad gets here, it will be a disaster." She didn't know everything about Bella. That part was my ears only. She only knew about James giving me inside information.

I would tell her the whole truth before everything went down.

"It'll be good."

I was trying to reassure myself. Pop, I could handle. Bella, I wasn't the least bit ready for. All the planning had flown out the window at the thought of her.

With Garrett and Leah flanking me, I walked into my club. Charlotte was waiting for me. The long line of women in there made me wonder what the hell I was thinking about coming in today.

No. I had to be here.

I leaned in and whisper my order in Charlotte's ear. She went to Peter and gave him the message. I wanted to interview these women myself. As some of the women, blush and wave at me, Garrett chuckled and I wanted to punch the fucker. I was about to say something to him when I saw him stiffen and placed his hand on his gun. While his eyes fixated on the person walking up to me, Charlotte came back over. She paused a little and then held her head high and continued her stride back to my side.

Aro's disgusting voice made me want to beat him into the ground. "Well, baby blue, damn…it looks like the girls are just lining up for you, aren't they?"

Aro had a sick grin plastered on his face as he eyed the girls waiting to be interviewed like they were a piece of meat. I looked at Pop's grim face as he glared at his friend.

Michael strode over to me, throwing an arm over my shoulder. "What's up, bro?" He laughed. I instantly relaxed. I was happy to have Michael here. I just wished it wasn't for the reasons I dreaded. He looked so much like our mom. Excepted he had Pop's stormy gray eyes. He had kept the wavy, blond hair I once had. "What is this? Auditions for a new lap dancer? 'cause I'm more than willing to be a guinea pig for that experiment."

I laughed heartily. "My club's not a strip joint, man. I'm looking for a waitress and another bartender."

Pop cocked an eyebrow at my answer. There was no doubt Aro told him about James holding that particular position when he was here. "Bartender, I get…" Michael went on, ignoring the silent conversation going on between Pop and me, "…but waitress and lap dancer are the same difference to me."

Pop laughed and turned his attention to my horny little brother. "How so, son?"

Michael faced Pop with his arm still slung over my shoulder. "Well, Pop, it's simple. A waitress you have to persuade, and a stripper, you just have to pay her." Sometimes, the way my little brother viewed women upset me. Then again, was I any better? I just fucked them and sent them on their way.

Leah glared at him. Charlotte looked pissed. Aro looked like someone handed him the directions to the Holy Grail. Anything crude said about women made this fucker feel happy.

Pop shook his head at Michael but said nothing.

"Son, we need to talk," he said, turning his attention to me; his hard eyes glued on mine. "Are we doing it here?"

"Yes."

I called Peter over and told him I would upstairs in a minute. Michael was going with him. "We'll have them ready for you, Bro." Michael cheered.

"Do you need me for anything else, Sir?" Charlotte asked. She was being formal in front of Pop like always.

"No, that will be all." She nodded and started to move away. As she did it, Aro reached out and slapped her ass. His little whore, Jane, giggled. Charlotte flashed around angrily and he threw her a daring glare. "What? Say something. Come on, Sugar pot, say something 'cause I can think of something useful to do with that pretty little mouth of yours," Aro sneered at her.

Charlotte didn't back down. She glared at him as he continued, "It looks like Peter isn't taking that sweet mouth of yours for as much as rides as he should. If you were my wife, I'd be ramming my cock in it every chance I got."

Peter was fuming as he edged closer, reaching for his gun while Jane reached for hers with her good hand. I caught her gleaming eyes, and threw her a deadly glare; making her drop her hand and back off. I didn't want a repeat of what happened at the warehouse last week, and even worse, there would be more witnesses this time around.

But everyone was on edge. Garrett and Leah stepped closer to me with their hands on their weapons. Pop's guards, Felix and Demetri, had their eyes trained on Garrett and Leah, while Dad and I were fiercely staring on at the interaction between Aro and Charlotte. I wanted to put a bullet in the son of a bitch and Pop could see it.

"Get out of here, Charlotte," I growled.

She strode away angrily, grumbling to herself while Aro turned to me with a sickening grin on his face. "You're fuckin' her, aren't you?"

"That's enough!" Pop growled before I could answer his sinister friend. "We have business to discuss."

"Take it easy, guys," Michael said sternly as he stepped into the middle of the standoff we were all having. He looked away from Aro, who was chuckling. "I'll be up in your office with Peter, alright, man?"

"Yeah," I sighed, attempting to calm the fuck down before I stomped off with Garrett and Leah following.

 **Next: Part II**


	4. The Boys are in Town II

_**Jasper Whitlock, 2006**_

Dad and his entourage followed us down the hall; passing the stage, to the back of the club, where my small conference area was. This was where I held my meetings with my crew.

New Moon Lounge was both a business and a front for my illegal activity.

My club and restaurant made me look legit to strangers who weren't aware of who I truly was; a member of one of the deadliest gangs in the country. Even though I assume everyone and their mother knew who the Whitlocks were. But for the sake of playing dumb, I had the club and restaurant anyway. They were good businesses. Both of them brought in a hefty sum of cash. Being the financial whiz of the family meant I didn't have to tell my father everything when it came to my expenses.

I saw New Moon Lounge and Eclipse as ways to make my own money anyway. Between my businesses and my other earnings from the warehouses along with the inheritance my mom left me, I didn't have to depend on the family's fortune. I could hold my own. I had enough to last me for a very long time. I just touch the family money to appease Pop. I bought a Ferrari or some other expensive shit I didn't need to please his stubborn ass. Most of the time I pass them off on Michael or Emmett or any one of the guys who wanted that shit.

I was a kind motherfucker like that.

The bottom line was, I could provide for myself outside of the family business. And I set things up in a way that I would have access to my money even after I did what I had to.

I didn't tell James everything.

I guess if I wanted to take his sister and run, after I somehow convinced her not to put a bullet between my eyes first, I could.

Who the fuck was I kidding? Bella Swan was coming to dismember me for the death of her brother.

Thinking about Bella was better left for another time. She hadn't shown up yet so I had nothing to worry about.

Not that I was worried. Death came for us sooner or later.

Leah moved in front of me, opening the offices doors while Garrett stayed by my side. These two always had my back.

We all strolled in behind Leah and I took a seat at the head of one end of the table. Dad took a seat at the head of the other end, facing me. Felix and Demetri flanked him on his end while Aro and Jane sat in the middle. Leah and Garrett stayed close to me. I briefly glanced at Garrett, and from his position, I could tell he had his gun trained on Aro while he leveled both Felix and Demetri with a death glare.

"Now tell me what happened," Dad stated, getting right into it. He didn't like to waste time at these meetings. I was the same way. There was no reason to play dumb or beat around the bush.

"Your man over there…" I said, pointing at Aro. "decided that it was a good idea to kill an FBI agent in one of my warehouses." The warehouses belonged to Pop. I didn't consider them mine. I only supervised over them. But for the sake of argument, I was calling them mine because it was my father's.

Aro chuckled but Pop remained silent as he looked on. "Who found out that this Agent Swan was FBI?"

"I did," Aro said smugly.

Pop stared at me. "You had an agent playing around in your backyard and you didn't know?" I could see the judgment dancing around in his eyes.

"Yeah," I admitted, but not without throwing a little bit of the truth back at him. "And Aro's cousin, Caius was the one who ratted us out to the Feds, but about what? I don't know, because that psycho over there shot James before Leah could _persuade_ the information out of him." Jane giggled, and Pop shot her a stern look, shutting her up. I was staying on point. As far as Pop knew, Caius was the only snitch. Not that I could call myself a snitch, but what the fuck ever. Details and all that shit.

"You think you would have found out what Caius told him?" Pop asked with interest while he eyed Leah. He knew how good she was. She had done a few jobs for him.

"Leah has her ways," I stated confidently.

"Really?" Pop smiled, glancing at Leah. The fucker was messing around. Pissing me right the fuck off. He knew Leah was a cold bitch.

"Yes, really," I said in an edgy tone. "She wouldn't be here if she wasn't good at what she does." Leah knew her shit. She could get any damn thing she wanted out of her prisoners. It was a sight to behold. Leah was downright sadistic when she wanted to be.

"I'm not questioning you, son." Pop sighed. "But since Aro got back, he has been up in arms about you shooting Jane in the shoulder for what she did."

It was only when he mentioned it, did I bother to pay attention to Jane's shoulder – the one in a sling – up until then, I didn't care. "She should have listened to me." I smirked while shooting that whore a cold glare. I wanted to rip her head off. Jane huffed and looked away. Leah chuckled. I chuckled along with her. Yeah, Aro's little tramp was intimidated by me. That was good. It was also good to know Leah had her gun trained on Jane so if the bitch tried anything we would blow her to Kingdom come. I was itching to pull my gun.

Pop could fucking sense the shit too. He didn't ask me anything else and Aro bristled because of it.

Despite our disagreement sometimes, Pop and I were alike. Mom was right in a sense. Especially when it came to business, Pop and I understood that nothing fucked it up. We saw things through to the end. The slightest distractions pissed us off and fuck ups were dealt with immediately.

This was a fuck up. Aro's. By allowing his bitch to kill James on the eve of the Chekov deal, pissed Pop off. As well as him thinking I didn't know about James' FBI status.

If only he knew how much I knew. Including how this Chekov deal could be the end of our family because his childhood friend was a fucking traitor. But my father was too set his own ways and too fucking trusting when it came to Aro to see the truth even if I hit over the head with it. I didn't see why he couldn't see that bastard for what he was, a fucking weasel. A parasite. How could he not see what this was really about for Aro? Power and who had it. To Aro, it shouldn't be Pop. It should be him. He even wanted my mother. Tanya Denali shouldn't have been Pop's. She should have been his. He used to lust after my mother. I knew that shit. It fueled my hate for the bastard. My mom never gave any indication she held an interest in Aro. My pop was a cheating bastard. I knew he fucked around on her, but Mom stayed true to her vows. She just turned her attention to me and Michael. The sun rose and set on our asses. But she still had place in her heart for Pop. He saw it too. He never allowed any of his bitches to disrespect our mother. They couldn't come within thousands of yards of her.

Mom probably would have shot them anyway.

She could a mean bitch when she wanted to be. She just used to pretend like she couldn't be. Picture of innocence my ass. Her perfection didn't fool me. Mom would have cut a bitch if she stepped too close to her perfect home life.

Knowing all of this, I didn't get Aro's insistence. He couldn't have our life. Why not give up and go find his own? No. He stuck around. Something did happen with him and Mom once. I still don't know what it was, but afterward, she was murderous toward him. Michael knew what happened. He witnessed it. He told me once if he told me I would be mad. He was damn right. Anything that involved Aro made me go off. I hated the motherfucker.

After James had reminded me of a crucial point, everything became clear. The Chekov was responsible for the fall of the Volturi gang. Aro's father, Marcus, was my grandfather's best friend and Pop's mentor. Marcus had promised Grandpa on his death bed to look after Pop by grooming him into being the next leader of the Whitlock gang after the old man dropped from cancer.

Marcus Volturi was true to his word. He mentored Pop. And Aro and Pop had been friends since kids. So when the Volturis fell, Pop came to his friend's aid. But was the fucker thankful? No, he spent years being an ass and doing side deals. James pointed that some of the problems Pop ran into over the years were caused by Aro. He wanted Pop out of the picture so he could take over the Whitlocks. Could you believe this shit? Aro running our family business. I would have killed the son of a bitch in his sleep.

None of his plans worked. Eventually, Pop and Tanya got married, popped out two boys and Pop had heirs to his throne. And if I really wanted to fuck with Aro, just to torture the fucker into his grave, I could do the same thing. Marry some broad and pop out a couple of kids. I wonder what Pop would think if I had a wife in the FBI?

I had to laugh internally. Bella would be perfect for this. From how her brother had described her, she sounded like she would take pleasure in fucking up Aro and Jane if I pointed her in the right direction, but they were mine. Especially Aro.

"Have I lost you, son?" Pop's voice brought me back to the matter at hand.

"Maybe he's thinking about all the pussy waiting for him upstairs," Aro suggested with a vile grin.

"No. I'm thinking about the fact the Chekovs are not to be trusted." I sneered at him. "I don't like dealing with fucking terrorists!"

"Business is business," Aro said. _Who the fuck died and made him boss?_

"What the fuck?"

"He's right," Pop said calmly. I couldn't believe what he just said. "Business is business."

"Business is business with a group who killed the Volturis?"

Pop sneered at me. Aro bristled at the mention of his family's demise. The temperature in the room dropped a couple degrees. But I wasn't through. "Unless there is some plan to make these fuckers pay for betraying a friend…" I looked directly at Aro when I said this. "then why are we dealing with these motherfuckers?"

Aro was unnerved. The fucker started twitching under my glare. "You got something to say, Baby Blue?"

"Yeah. Why are we dealing with people who took your inheritance away? Don't you want revenge or are you after something else?"

Pop slammed his fist down on the table, making everyone but me jump. "Enough, Jasper!"

"Why?" I roared. I sprang up, and Pop followed, equally pissed. "So you can pretend not to see the truth?" I was sick of this shit.

"I'm here to check in with you. I'm here to bring your brother to stay with you. I'm not here for you to act like you forgot who runs the fucking show. Or who is the fucking boss!"

"I haven't forgotten." I sneered with a smug grin on my face I knew Pop wanted to wipe off. We had thrown punches at these meetings before. Our men looked prepared to part us if we started fighting. Everyone but Aro looked on edge. I knew he wanted Pop and me to kill each other so he could get everything. Michael wasn't strong enough to fight him if Pop and I died. He would slit my little brother's throat in his sleep.

"Then fucking act like you have some sense," Pop said. "Stop questioning my business and just do what I tell you to do."

Aro snickered and I wanted to shoot him in the face.

"Stop!" Pop shouted. He saw the thought written all over my face. He took a seat and I followed, taking mine. "Now, as I said, I'm just checking in. Aro and Jane will be staying for a while."

I nodded with a smirk.

"Don't put a bullet between their eyes."

I cocked an eyebrow at him. I wasn't promising anything. I would find a way to kill them. I was sure of that.

"I'd like to see him try," Aro said.

"Don't fucking challenge my son in front of me," Pop said, making the traitor shrink in his seat. "Jasper is my blood, my heir. That's my boy. Anyone who has a problem with him, has a fucking problem with me. I would burn the world if anyone touches my boys."

That was Pop way of saying I love you, son.

"Now I need to talk to Jasper alone."

Everyone left us.

Pop relaxed in his seat, rubbing his temples. "Jasper," he said softly. "Will there ever be a day I won't have to worry about you and Aro killing each other?"

I could tell him that was really dumb fucking question to ask me, but I settled for, "No."

"Fuck."

I scoffed.

"Jasper, I want this deal to go through without anymore interruptions. Aro had intel on this James Swan. Swan was getting too close to the deal and who the Chekovs work with in our government."

"I figured some big wig caused the agent's death. If it wasn't, then Banner wouldn't have sold him out." I wanted him to know I knew about that sleazy bastard, FBI Director Banner.

Pop chuckled. "I should have known you knew about Banner."

"That sleazeball? Oh please. How dumb do you think I am?"

"You're the smartest kid I know which is why…" Pop got up and came closer. He sat down beside me. He stared into my eyes like he was in love with me or something until that shit unnerved me.

"If you're about to profess your undying love for me, I will shoot you."

The old man laughed loud and heartily. "You're such a little punk. You got the same spunk like your mother. I missed her every day. But when I look at you and Michael, I remember all the good things she left to keep me company. Tanya knew I was a selfish fuck, so you boys were to help ease the pain of losing her. She knew I would blame the heavens for taking her from me, so she said before she died, don't blame God cause he sent you and your brother. That woman was always one step ahead of me."

He chuckled softly and I let him reminisce. When he spoke, I almost thought he knew the whole truth. "James was good. Banner said so. He didn't like getting him killed. He hasn't told me about the agent they're sending next, but be on the lookout. Edward is keeping his ears open."

Edward, my fucking spy of a cousin. He wouldn't see Bella coming. She was a fucking ghost. Her brother had schooled me on her. What I didn't understand was why Banner hadn't given her up yet? Maybe he wanted her to collect something incriminating then take us in and get a big promotion. This fuckery was running deeper than I thought. There were traitors coming at us from all sides. James had been right.

Pop and I talked some more about business. He wanted me to be ready for anything when it came to the Chekov. He was suspicious of Aro for pushing the deal, but he was playing the dumb friend, hoping Aro would reveal something. He hadn't so far.

In this moment, I wanted to trust Pop with my plan, but I couldn't. It was the only way to keep him and Michael and my family alive. They had to make it out of this madness.

"I know you hate Aro being here, but fucking bear with me."

"I'll do my best." Pop didn't ask me for many favors so I had to promise him I would try. If Aro died 'accidentally', it was no fault of mine.

We left the office and I called Michael down to say goodbye to Pop. Aro and Jane would be staying in Pop's mansion. I had Leah alert my guys over there to keep a close eye on them. They were to do whatever he said, but report directly back to me. He shouldn't make a move without me knowing.

Pop was heading back to New York. With the FBI agent's death, we couldn't be sure what the agents who weren't on our payroll were up to. I knew one was coming for me. The Chekov deal was going through much to my dismay.

As soon as Pop left with Aro and Jane for his place here in town, then he would head back to the airport, I was on the phone with Emmett. I wanted the surveillance at Pop's place to double. I wanted to know how many times Aro took a shit.

With that done, I headed up to the main office for the interviews for the bartending and the waitress positions. I walked past the girls lined up outside and ducked into my office, shutting the door behind me. Leaning against it, I rolled my sniff neck and shut my eyes for a minute. When I opened them, I saw my brother sitting at my desk with his feet propped up on it.

"Get the fuck out of my chair!"

He laughed and got up. "Whoa, big bro, you look terrible."

"Aro is here to stay," I told him, noticing he didn't answer straight away. "You knew, didn't you?"

"Yeah," he said softly. "Sorry about that, man. I didn't have any time to warn you. I know you and him aren't on the best terms."

"No," I answered, rubbing my temples. "And never will be."

I rolled my neck, walking to my desk. "You need to get laid," Peter said from his place on the couch in the corner.

Michael laughed. "I was just about to tell him that. How long has it been since you got some pussy?"

I sighed. "A while."

"What the fuck?" Michael exclaimed. "Are you fucking insane? I got to get laid at least three times a week just to function." I had to laugh. "What? Laugh all you want, big bro, I love sex. There is nothing like a woman under you, on top of you, or in front of you, screaming for God while she fucks your cock."

"You're fucking horrible," I sighed and cranked my stiff neck, taking a seat behind my desk.

"I don't care," Michael said proudly. "Get laid the fuck now. I'm not going to stop hounding you until you do. Call up one of the many girls that want to get your dick wet and get a fucking leg over."

I rolled my eyes while Peter chuckled. I shot him a glare. "What? Michael is just saying what I'm thinking."

The sour mood I was in began to dissolve as these two continue to tease me about going monk until I told them I would call a girl later. But I had to find a new waitress and bartender first.

 **~~dkol~~**

Finding a waitress was easy. Michael couldn't get over the leggy blond that just walked out. He hired her on the spot. I wasn't going to take her at first, but Peter shot me a look and called Emmett. She checked out, so I told Michael yes. He was over the fucking moon, you would think I gave the kid a Christmas present, but I warned his horny ass off. He better not fuck around with her then have her quit on me or else I'd have his head for it. He promised to ease off until she was settled. I didn't believe him.

Things went from bad to worse with the bartending position though. Girl after girl walked in and I couldn't find anyone suitable to be my bartender. Mike, or Maloney as I liked to call him, came in a few times. He couldn't find one he wanted to work with. Mostly because all of them had too much fucking stars in their eyes. They were more interested in flirting with me than in what the job entailed. What the fuck? I wanted a fucking bartender! I wasn't fucking around.

I had leaned back in my chair and closed my eyes. Maloney had already left and Peter and Michael were talking about some shit about the girl who just left when _she_ walked in.

I always wondered what I would do when I came face to face with Bella. I wouldn't give myself away. As far as she knew, I didn't know anything about her. I knew nothing about James. I didn't know about their secret meeting rendezvous place in Port Angeles. I didn't know she had the most beautiful smile I had ever seen. She had long brown hair that sat on top of her ample ass. An ass I wanted to slap while fucking her.

So when she rushed through the door, out of breath as she eyed each of us and said, "Hey, am I late?" I was at a loss for words, because she was even hotter than her pictures. She was the epitome of pictures didn't do you justice. I wanted to run Peter and Michael out and spend the rest of the day fucking her into oblivion. She was that hot.

The room was silent as she said, "I noticed the line dwindling out there so I just rushed in. I'm new in town and I'm looking a job." Lie. She was from Washington. So that part was true. Needing a job, not so much. She put assholes like me away for a living.

But fuck the facts. I couldn't speak. I don't remember the last time I was speechless around a woman. I was completely lost!

She wasn't like anyone I ever seen before; at least not in my club. She was naturally beautiful. It wasn't makeup. She could go without for days and I would want to fuck her until the cows came home.

I loved the look she was going with. She looked like one of those Goth chicks with the short, black, sleeked back hair and dark eyeliner. She looked like a rocker's groupie. Fuck, I wanted her. I knew why she was here and my cock still twitched at how fucking hot Bella Swan was. Especially when she cocked her hip to the side, leaning her helmet on it. She rode a bike? Oh fuck.

"Well, then…" Peter started, glancing between me and her. "You came to the right place." My little brother smirked at me, probably finding my reaction funny, but I didn't care. I wasn't a shy guy and when I wanted something I let it show.

I openly stared at her, taking in her sexy little frame as she talked to Peter who threw questions at her. All warnings James gave me flew out the window. I wanted to see how she was going to play this.

"What's your name?" I finally found my voice!

"Bella. Bella Dwyer."

So that was the name she was going with. Dwyer.

I was about to say something else when my knucklehead little brother spoke up. "So, where're you're from, Bella?"

She slightly turned her body to him to give him her full attention while she rattled off some lie and I got a good enough view of her ass in those pants. The dark jeans, biker boots and fitted t-shirt she wore were doing wonders for my dick. I don't think I have ever been this hard. I was conjuring up images of us fucking all over my office while she spoke. I had to shake my head clear of the thoughts before I grabbed her like a fucking animal and throw her down on my desk.

"Sounds like you've been all over," I interjected. She turned her attention back to me and smirked. Shit! My cock twitched again. I would have to find a way, and fast, to keep myself under control around Bella. I didn't come this far to give myself away. I wanted to see what angle Bella was going to play before I made a move. Before I let her know we were on the same team. Preferably I would do that before she blew my head off.

"Yeah," she said. "Pretty much."

Bella had named a couple places she had grown up. "Army brat?"

She cocked her head a little to the right in curiosity. James said she did shit like that. It was unreal to see how right he was. "Yeah," she answered cautiously.

We didn't say anything else to each other. The office fell silent. It was like it wasn't needed. Michael and Peter were staring at the both of us, but Bella and I were stuck in the strange staring contest. And I didn't want to be the first to look away.

She held on for as long as she could, but she broke eventually.

"So I was hoping you haven't filled any positions yet. Have you?"

"We filled the waitressing position already," Michael eagerly said. "We still need a bartender though." He was openly checking Bella out and I wanted to punch him in the face. I didn't want any other man looking at her. I wanted to stake my claim on her like a lovesick stalker. Fuck, I wasn't far from pissing around her to mark my territory.

How the fuck was I going to stay away from someone I was already addicted to?

Bella looked pleased. "Well, that's good. I've mostly worked in bars in whichever town I stop in. But if it's a reference you're looking for then…" she let the rest of her sentence hang, pretending like she didn't come in here dressed as hot as fuck hoping I wouldn't ask for a reference.

"I don't need a reference," I said sternly. I was surprised by the deep tone of my voice and how commanding it sounded.

She was taken aback by my rough answer. Maybe if I acted like I hated her right off bat and didn't want anything but a professional relationship with her, my dick wouldn't explode every time I would have to be in her presence.

"You think you're good at bartending?" I asked, while giving Peter a slight nod to indicate he should run a background check on Bella.

I was sure Rosalie would be ready for him. Bella would check out.

"Yes," she said with confidence, giving me a small smile before biting her bottom lip. That move alone made me groan inaudibly. I was going to fuck this girl.

I leaned forward, bracing my elbows on my desk while eyeing her. My cock was screaming for a release. I would have to call one of the girls I fucked to deal with it.

"I want you to go and get us a drink. I want you to figure out what we want without asking the guy behind the bar what we drink." Bella's eyes squinted. She liked the challenge. "If you guess right, you've got the job."

She smirked and then asked, "Mind if I leave my helmet and bag here?" She gestured to a chair next to her.

I nodded. She placed her helmet and bag on the seat and then turned and left.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Michael asked with a guffaw as he made his way over to her bag. I let him go through it. "It's clean. Just chick stuff and a map. But come on, Jasper, she's not going to get it right. She isn't fucking psychic."

I smiled, while Peter chuckled and shook his head. "Never say never, and have little a patience." Bella was smart. She did her homework. She would get this right.

Michael went back to his seat and threw himself down in it. "Alright. Let's see what she does."

Bella wasn't gone too long. My confidence in her competence increased when she walked in with three glasses of Whiskey. She placed the first glass in front of me. I looked up at her and smirked. She smirked back with a slight nod and a cock of her right eyebrow. Shit. She was good.

She placed the second glass in front of my dumbfounded brother and then moved to Peter, giving him his drink.

After taking a sip, I asked, "How did you know?"

Peter smiled and shook his head, getting on the phone with Emmett while Bella shrugged, "You look like a whiskey type of guy, plus, you kinda look stressed. I figured a glass of whiskey would do the trick."

Bella wasn't through.

She turned to Peter and baffled him, "Even though I'd say you're a Scotch man since you've got that air of sophistication about you, I thought a glass of Whiskey would be a good substitute."

"And Jasper doesn't have that air of sophistication about him?" Peter asked her, nodding toward me.

"Oh, he does…" She chuckled and glanced at me out of the corner of her eye. "But he likes to keep it simple when it comes to his drinks."

"And me?" Michael smiled.

"Beer, but definitely a vodka kind of man," Michael lit up at her words. He was a Vodka guy.

I sipped my drink, letting her stew for another minute. "You got a problem with late hours or overtime?"

"No, sir."

Something pricked me to test her. Well, play with her, so I asked, "Do you know who I am?" She saw Leah and the armed guards outside. She saw the surveillance in the office.

"Jasper Whitlock," Bella said with ease. "You run things around here, so who better place to come to for a job?"

A smart ass. I liked it. "Be back here at nine tonight."

"Yes, sir." She smirked, grabbed her helmet, bag and heading out the door.

"Are you sure?" Peter asked. He had already hung up with Emmett and Bella checked out. Only I knew why.

I didn't answer. I was still staring at the door Bella Swan had just walked through. Aside from the attraction I feel, and the lust I was definitely going to act on, there was something about Bella. Something I could see myself wanting. Something that would never be once the truth came to light.

Michael interrupted my thoughts, answering Peter for me. "Oh, he's sure. I know that look, Peter."

I didn't answer them.

"I know it too." Peter added. "Bella won't know what hit her."

" _No, she will not."_ I thought as I leaned back in my chair and closed my eyes with a smile on my face.

 **Next: Bella gets the job going.**


	5. Surveillance

_**Bella Swan, 2006**_

" _Be back here at nine tonight."_

His voice alone grated my nerves. I wanted to wipe the floor with him. I wanted him to suffer. I had to see past the perfection of his features. Admittedly, Jasper was a handsome guy, but I was still going to kill him. Being so close to him and not make a move was a test of my resilience and strength. It took everything I had to keep up the façade. But he both the story and I got the job. I was in.

"So, are you in?" Alice asked over our secure phone.

"I'm in!" I told her, perched on the back of my motorcycle by the pier. I used to love the water. Loved going to the beach. Loved to surf with my big brother. But that love was gone. It was taken from me by the bastard I was about to go work for. Jasper Whitlock had killed the best part of me.

Alice cheered. "Great going, Bells!"

"Oh, and Alice?"

"What?" she asked quizzically.

"The drink thing worked like a charm," I said smugly. Alice hadn't wanted me to do it. She thought it was risky. I wasn't worried. We had this covered. Rosalie had already schooled me. With her on the inside, it was a win-win. She provided great intel. Before I got to the interview, she gave me a heads up by way of a cryptic message via text from a number that couldn't be traced that Jasper's father and brother were in town along with a few of Nicky Whitlock's henchmen and Aro and Jane.

Those two were in a class to themselves. Rosie wanted me to stay away from them. No problem. Jasper was my mission. I would get Banner whatever evidence he needed and then I would send Jasper to hell.

Rosie also told me Jasper ordered Emmett to keep a close eye on Aro. What was up with that? Maybe some trust issues amidst the ranks? Why would he spy on someone who was practically his uncle? Nicky and Aro grew up together. They were best friends. Aro was best man at his wedding to supermodel Tanya Denali. Although according to Rosie, she learned from Emmett that there was no love lost between Aro and Tanya. She hated Aro with a passion.

I didn't care. Jasper was my target. Everything else was detail.

Aro was a psychotic and a loose cannon. Nicky always bailed him out trouble over the years even if it got him into deeper shit and created enemies in order to protect his friend.

I would also be keeping a close eye on Rosie. I think she had been undercover too long. She was developing feelings and an attachment to this crime family because of Emmett. She felt something for him. Something along the line of what Alice and James had and I couldn't let Dad know.

We could fraternize with the enemy but never let feelings get involved.

"Hey, Bells!" Alice shouted, making me move the phone from my ear.

"I'm here. Jesus!"

"You were silent there for a minute," Alice said. "I got worried. Are you second guessing things?"

"Definitely not!" I told her. "They're going down, Alice. For Jamie."

She sighed. "For Jamie. Now remember what to do, and call me when you get to the house. And Bells…"

"I'll call when I get there," I said. "And yeah?"

"I know you'll have to do some things you might not want to do, and I'm so sorry, Bells."

"It's okay, Alice," I told her; only half believing it. "I'll be okay."

Alice let out a sigh of relief and chuckled, "I'm glad you're in, Bella."

"Me too." And for some reason, I really was. It was felt I was right where I was supposed to be.

 **~~dkol~~**

I parked my bike in the driveway of the rundown house and got off. Grabbing my keys, I looked around the block, noticing a few people glancing at me. Yeah, there was a new girl in town, and she was on a mission to catch her brother's killer.

My key turned in the lock, and I opened up the front door, making my way inside.

The house looked unbelievable. I couldn't believe it was the same place Alice had toured. She was a miracle worker. I walked through the place, room by room in awe. The living area was simple; just a sofa, entertainment system and a flat screen TV. The kitchen was standard. There was a stove, a few pots and pans, some plates to eat on, and cups to drink from. We were leaving things sparse. The bedroom wasn't elaborate, but cozy. The bathroom had been redone, because from what I saw in the pictures, I couldn't use it in its previous debilitating state. But all in all, everything looked perfect.

When it had come to transforming me, Alice thought a haircut would be good. So I chopped off my long mahogany locks and we dyed my hair black. Alice wanted me to be different from the girls Jasper was used to and with my rowdy attitude – a true tomboy James always said –Alice thought I could pull it off.

We went with a rocker, Goth type of look. I'd wear a lot of black – which was cool with me as it was one of my favorite colors – jeans, tight t-shirts but I'd have to switch it up when it came to evening wear. Alice knew Emmett would be digging into my history and they would be watching me especially if my plan to get closer to Jasper worked. So Alice filled my closet with some knock off dresses and six inch heels. I had never been so glad to be related to Rosie than I did then. She taught me all about dresses and walking in heels. Even dancing in them. Yeah, I knew how to work a pole. Everything was a necessity in this job.

After Director Banner had given us the go ahead, Alice got on top of things. We established a plan and Alice went through the house setting up surveillance. The living area and kitchen was bugged, but not the bedroom and bathroom. No fucking way. I needed some kind of privacy. I was already about to throw dignity out the window for this mission.

Dad would be listening in sometimes. We had a talk. He understood what was needed. Whatever it took. He only made me promise to make it out alive.

I dialed Alice and she picked up on the first ring. "Hey, are you at the house?"

"Can't you see me?" I asked smugly. Dad had implanted a tracking chip in my left hip as back up. He wanted to be able to find me in case something went wrong.

"Yep!" Alice cheered. "You're blinking."

"Cool."

"Charlie is here, Bells," Alice said. "He wants to talk to you."

"Be careful, Bells." The edge in his voice when he came on the line made me want to cry.

"I will, Charlie." When we were on the job, I hardly called him 'Dad'. We agreed that I would only do that if it was necessary or I wanted him to take someone out. My father was a damn good sharpshooter. One of the best in both agencies. The FBI and the CIA.

"Careful, Bells. Come back to me."

"I will."

"Whatever it takes."

"Whatever it takes." I echoed as a single tear rolled down my cheek.

We ended the call. Alice didn't need to talk back to me. I knew she would be watching me.

I decided to catch some shuteye before heading back to New Moon Lounge tonight. I wanted to get my head in the game. Stripping out of my clothes, I grabbed my music and climbed into bed in my panties and bra. After plugging the earphones in my ears, I pulled the duvet over my head, and let the music sooth me.

I could do this.

 **~~dkol~~**

The music was thumping when I pulled up. There was a long line was outside, filled with scantily clad women and a few well dressed men while other guys went with a casual look. I, myself, was dressed in tight black jeans and fitted checkered black shirt to match. I went with my biker boots again, figuring I would be on my feet for most of the night and I wanted to be comfortable.

"Hey, what's up sexy?" A guy leered at me as I walked by, heading to the bouncer.

I ignored the asshole, cocking an eyebrow at him as he made kissing sounds after me. Stepping up to the bouncer, I told him my name and he let me pass. Walking inside, I couldn't believe it was just nine at night and Jasper's club was already packed. I made my way through the bumping bodies, heading straight for the bar where I found Mike Maloney, my supervisor.

"Hey there, Bella," he greeted me. "Get back here and let's get started."

"Alright."

I had done my research on Mike Maloney. He was an ex-junkie who grew up in Jasper's Dad's old neighborhood in New York. Apparently he and Jasper knew each other and after his family was killed, the Whitlocks started to watch out for him. Especially Jasper. I didn't know why Mike was in Chicago, but I didn't care. I was after his boss.

"You ready for this, kid?" he asked with a genuine smile.

"As ready as I'll ever be."

"Good," he exclaimed. "Now, main rule, get the drink right and keep it going. Don't flirt with the customers too much and if anyone gets handsy, let me know."

"Alright."

"Got any questions?" Mike asked as he set out some glasses.

"Yeah," I chuckled. "Is the place always this packed so early in the night? I wasn't expecting this kind of crowd until about, I don't know, elevenish."

Mike laughed. "Yeah, it's usually like this."

"Oh man!" I looked out at the crowd and laughed.

Mike came to stand beside me. He was a pretty tall guy with brown hair and green eyes. Slim built with tattoos littered down his arms. He had on black attire like me; black pants and a black t-shirt with the New Moon Lounge logo on it. "Yeah, and it only gets crazier. Go get your shirt on and head back out here."

Mike directed me around the back to the lockers. I found one with my name on it and I quickly wondered if this had been Jamie's locker. I shook my head clear of that thought and grabbed my own New Moon Lounge logo shirt and exchanged with what I had on. I had my head down while making my way back out to the bar and Mike when I bumped into a hard chest.

"You should watch where you're going," Jasper said, his eyes gleaming down at me. They were beautiful. I have never seen anything like it before. They were the bluest eyes I had ever looked into. It was like I was staring into the depths of the ocean.

"Sorry about that, sir." I tried to maneuver my way out of his arms, seeing as he was still holding on to my shoulders, but Jasper didn't let go. His grip wasn't strong but the comforting warmth I suddenly felt from his close proximity was unnerving.

"Call me Jasper." He smiled.

I smiled back. "Well, I've got to get going, Jasper. Mike's waiting. Catch you later?" His hands fell to his side. I didn't wait for him to answer. I moved around him, winking before I turned away, sick to my stomach. It was odd. A minute in his arms and I felt warm and safe. Now I was back to my senses. You can't feel safe with the devil.

"Took you long enough," Mike said, but the smile gracing his face showed that he wasn't reprimanding me. He was just kidding.

"Yeah, I bumped into the boss back there." As soon as I said it, Jasper walked out and I watched the women in the room take him in. Their eyes followed his every move. They looked like they were about to have a heart attack with each move he made.

"They're always like that too," Mike interjected. I turned to him and watched as he smirked and shook his head, looking out at Jasper. "Pretty much every girl that worked here or came to the club, looks at Jasper like that."

I knew what he was getting at. "Don't worry about it, Mike. I'm here to work."

Mike smiled broadly and held his hands up in a mock surrender. "Then let's get to work."

I smiled and looked away from Mike, only to see Jasper watching us. His eyes caught mine and he smiled.

" _You're half way there, Swan."_ I thought, wiping down the counter.

 **Next: What is it about this girl?**


	6. All I Want is You

**AN: Thanks for the reviews! Love 'em. Thanks to the patience of beanothercullen for sorting out my madness. Any other mistakes are mine. I love this chapter! Bella was awesome in it.**

* * *

 _ **Jasper Whitlock, 2006**_

Her strawberry scent was intoxicating.

I didn't even like strawberries.

What the fuck was wrong with me?

The live feed from the security cameras throughout the Lounge, showed Bella arriving for work exactly nine o'clock. I raced from my office, heading downstairs, just so I could stand some ways away and watch her talk to Maloney. I couldn't help the pang of jealousy I felt when he laughed at something Bella said. This was going to be a problem. I could see myself wanting to rip apart any guy that dared to talk to her.

That shit would not work. I needed to keep my head firmly in the game. Keep my mind and my dick on the facts.

Bella was FBI.

She was here to replace her brother.

She was here to kill me for killing him even if I didn't do it. Even if I hadn't want James to die. Bella wouldn't see any other way. James was dead and I was to be blamed.

So thinking about her as anything but my executioner was madness. Sure, she was hot as fuck but I couldn't have her.

I should keep telling myself that until my mind and my dick believed it but I couldn't because she was so enigmatic. I wanted to know Bella Swan. I wanted her in my life, in my bed, I wanted her in ways I have never wanted another woman. It was so fucked up because I have had so many women. Why now? Why her? Why the one woman I was not supposed to have?

I waited for the right time and then I 'accidentally' bumped into her on her way out. She smelled so fucking good! Like fucking strawberries and I despised strawberries! Her smile was cute. It took all I had not to drag her up to my office and fuck her over my desk. I could have persuaded her if I wanted to. I was sure she came into this assignment telling herself she was going to do whatever was necessary to gain my trust. She would have to grow close to me. I could use it to my advantage. But I wasn't going to. I wanted Bella to ignore all rationality and want me the way I wanted her.

I was going to pursue her. There was no talking myself out of it because she was something I shouldn't have. It made me want her more. She was going to be mine. In my mind, Bella was a fucking reformed virgin waiting to be deflowered by me. If any man dared to touch her after me, I would rip his arms off and beat him to death with them.

We spoke and I told Bella, "Call me Jasper." And she smiled. Damn, her smile alone could get me killed. I might see it on the street and walk into a Mac truck. The chick was dazzling me with a smile. The sheer look of it made my heart flutter. What the fuck is wrong with me?! _You have got a heart condition, that's what._ This girl was seriously fucking me up.

"Well, I've got to get going, Jasper. Mike's waiting. Catch you later?" Her voice was smooth, deep, and sexy. It sounded like she was flirting with me even though she wasn't.

I wanted to ask questions just to keep her talking. With a voice so sexy, Bella could be a phone sex operator but she wouldn't be a successful one because I would kill all her customers.

No one besides me should get off because of her sexy voice. It was like a cup of warm chocolate tea on a snowy day.

What the fuck was I thinking about?

It was official.

I was fucking losing it.

I followed Bella out of the locker room. Mike caught my eye and shook his head. Fucker! Yeah, I got it bad, so what? I knew the women at the bar were staring at me but I didn't give a shit. I only had eyes for one girl and she was smiling at something Mike just said to her.

Bella's eyes caught mine and I smiled. What the hell was I smiling for? I didn't even know. I just wanted to smile at her like the psycho, lovesick stalker I was about to be. And damn, if my heart didn't like it when she winked at me. It skipped a fucking beat.

Maybe Bella wouldn't need bullets to kill my ass. A heart attack because of a fucking wink from her would do the job.

When I walked into my office and plopped down in my chair, I wanted to kick my own ass for acting like some love struck teenager. I needed to take back the control. I was the master of this ship. Not Bella Swan with her tight ass, cute smile, great tits and sexy voice.

Slamming my fist down on my desk, I took control. Fuck this shit. In a week, I would have everything under control.

 **~~dkol~~**

I didn't fix shit in a week.

The first night Bella started at the club, I called Nina up and fucked her all night. Nina was one of the models I saw. And I thought fucking her would not only help relieve some stress, but also help me forget about Bella. I wanted to get Bella's smile out of my mind.

I felt like a hypocrite. I had warned my little brother not to mess with the new waitress, and here I was, pining after James' sister with the brown eyes and pouty lips.

So when I wrapped Nina's legs around my waist and filled her, I tried hard to hear her moans and not see Bella's heart shaped face in my head. And when that didn't work, I threw Nina's legs over my shoulder and pounded my hard cock into her while she laughed, screamed and found her release. But I couldn't come. Not until I pictured Bella beneath me, taking my hard dick inside her tight pussy. And when I was through, I jumped off Nina like she burned me. I sat on the edge of the bed, naked and defeated, by the mere thought of a brown eyed girl who must likely wanted to rip my throat out.

Nina pouted and left as soon as she got her clothes on. The women I fucked knew how I was. I slept alone.

Sleep evaded me though. I stayed up for hours after Nina's departure, thinking about Bella.

For the entire week, I fought against the intense feelings developing for James' sister. What I felt for Bella shouldn't be. My little brother, Michael, teased me mercilessly about pining after Bella. He was a perceptive son of a bitch. He figured out I liked her and would not stop encouraging me to go after her. He was convinced she wouldn't turn me on the basis of me being who I was. Jasper Whitlock, heir to the most deadly family in the country. Who would turn me down?

Michael didn't know how deep the river ran. He didn't know the shit that was about to be unleashed. He didn't know what I was about to do to protect him.

"Oh man, you have it bad!" He laughed when he had caught me watching Bella on the monitor one night. "Why don't you just ask her out? She knows who you are. I'm sure she wouldn't dare turn you down."

His nonchalance was insulting. I didn't want Bella to yield because of who I was. "I'm not going to force her to go out with me, Michael!" What the fuck was he thinking? "If Bella wants to go out with me, it'll be because she wants me, not because I'm a deadly gangster who's forcing her to!"

"Jas…"

I didn't give him a chance to speak. I was so pissed. "I want Bella to want me! I don't want her to be so fucking afraid of me she would sooner piss herself than tell me no!"

"Alright, alright, geez!" He threw his hands up in surrender. I must have looked like a wild animal to Michael. He was staring at me like I was crazed. "I was just trying to help."

I rubbed my temples. "This is shit I was running from."

"What do you mean?" he asked, confused, taking a seat across from me.

"You," I said, waving my hand dismissively at him. "Acting like an ass."

Michael still looked confused. "I'm not following."

"Listen, Michael, I know you want to be in this…business…"

"Don't start, Jasper!" He jumped up angrily from his seat. "I'm not going to listen to it. I'm in this for life. I want to do what you and Pop do."

"You have choices," I stressed. Michael had a chance. He didn't have to be in this life.

"So did you!" He shouted. "And you chose this! Why is it good enough for you but not for me?"

I didn't want to show him any weakness. I couldn't. I knew Michael. If it sounded like I had second guessed my decision to join Pop in the business, he would run his mouth to Pop and I didn't need a lecture.

"Which means I know exactly what I'm talking about," I countered crossly. Michael didn't say anything. "Think about it."

He bristled and left my office.

I called up Maloney after Michael's departure. I wanted something to be rectified.

"What's up, boss?" he asked as he took a seat across from me.

I shook my head at him. Nothing was up. I just wanted Bella. "I want her up here." I motioned to monitor two.

Maloney looked at the monitor showing Bella wiping down the bar. He chuckled but I didn't pay him any mind. I busied myself with some files on my desk.

"What's happening with you?"

I looked at him pointedly. "What's it to you? What is this? Therapy?"

He chuckled again. "No. But you know me, Jasper. I'm an observant son of a bitch, and for a week now, you've been fishing around Bella."

"So?"

"So it's good to know you care."

"Fuck off."

Maloney outright laughed at me. I let him have his fun. I liked the son of a bitch. He was a good buddy. If this were anyone else, I would have shot them for laughing at me.

When he settled down, Maloney looked me straight in the eye and said, "I meant no offense. You probably would've shot me if you didn't like me."

"What makes you think I won't?"

"I don't."

We stared each other down and then broke out in laughter. "Seriously though, it's good to see you care."

"I just want to hit it." It sounded wrong to even say it. I ignored the feeling. "She's new. She's hot."

"Yeah," Maloney said with a smirk. "She's not your type."

"What's my types?"

"Models. High society girls with daddy issues."

"Looks like you've got me pegged." He was right. Those were the type of girls I usually go for.

"I don't." Maloney smirked. "I just know what I see."

"And that is?"

"She's a good kid, Jasper," he said solemnly, wiping the smile off is face. "Don't use her like the others."

I had to laugh. "What are you? Her big brother?"

He chuckled lightly. "No. This past week has been an eye opener. She's a great girl and I guess I don't want to see her quit because of some shit you did."

Again, another person would rather shit their pants than talk to me like this, but not Maloney. The guy had no self preservation.

"Bella's not going anywhere," I told him with a smirk. "She intrigues me."

"She's not easy." Mike stated with a satisfied grin. "She's different. She's strong, intelligent and looks like someone who will rip your balls off if you fuck with her."

"And that's what I like," I added. We laughed.

"Alright, man, just call the bar when you're ready and I'll make sure Bella delivers your drinks," he concluded, getting up and making his way to the door.

"That's all I want."

Maloney nodded and left. I got on the phone with Emmett about the Chekovs.

Fifteen minutes later, I was tense as fuck after talking about the Chekovs. An associate was coming to town in two days and he wanted to visit my club. I knew what they were doing. The Chekovs were scoping out our businesses looking to see what they would gain if they wanted to demolish our gang. Now, I had to babysit one of their fucking lackeys while being tempted to put a bullet in whoever it was going to be.

I grabbed up my phone and called the bar. "Mike, I need a bottle of Whiskey."

"Coming right up, Boss."

After we hung up, not a minute later, Bella was walking through my door with a tray holding a bottle of whiskey, a small bucket of ice and a glass. With anyone else, I would have poured the Whiskey myself and asked them to leave, but not Bella. Not with the way she was dressed.

She had been here since ten this morning and would be working a double shift today. I know I should have sent her home and got someone to work in her spot tonight, but I was cruel son of a bitch. I wanted Bella here with me.

Especially right now.

She had on some small shorts and if she bent down low enough I could see her ass. The knee high boots were doing wonders for my dick. They would be the star of my dreams later when I imagined Bella's legs wrapped me while I fucked her as she wore nothing but those boots.

"You alright, Boss?" she asked, making me jump at the sound of her velvety voice as she placed my drink in front of me. Her plump lips were so appealing. I wanted to kiss them. She chuckled, "Didn't mean to scare ya."

"You didn't scare me," I said harshly.

Bella didn't even flinch at the tone of my voice. In fact, she took it as a challenge. "Funny, you jumped out of your skin when I asked if you were alright."

"Well, I was deep in thought."

"Yeah right," she scoffed and mumbled.

"Excuse me?" I wanted to know what she was thinking.

She sighed and then smirked. "Listen, you look really stressed. Why don't you get a girl to massage your shoulders or something? Or…" she whistled and pointed at her crotch. This girl was something else.

"Are you telling me to go fuck a girl?" I asked incredulously.

She didn't back down. "Well yeah. Guys think about sex all the time so if you're sitting here, stressed out of your mind, I can't think of a better thing for you to do than to go…" She bit her bottom lip and I wanted to bite it for her. She looked down, letting her eyes travel the length of my body until she met my eyes; holding me in the most enticing gaze. "…fuck a girl." She raised an eyebrow at me and cocked her hip to the side.

I didn't answer. I held her gaze until she broke it and turned away, ready to leave my office.

By the time her hand was on the doorknob, one of my hands was around her waist and the other was covering her small hand with my large one, closing the door. My lips were right at her ear, her delicious scent filling my lungs as I said in a husky tone, "That's not a bad idea, Bella." I pressed my body into hers. "What do you suggest?" I wanted her and my cock was in agreement.

She moaned lightly and pushed back on me. Bella turned around in my arms, placed her hands against my chest, pressing her lower half into my hard cock. She raised herself up on her tip toes–even in high heels she was still an inch shorter than me–and spoke so softly making her peppermint scented breath fan all over my face. "Maybe I should go find her."

Before I knew it, Bella had the door opened and went through it. "Later, Boss." She called over her shoulder.

What–the–fuck?

Day turned into night. I stayed in my office going over some paperwork. I called down at the warehouses to check on things and they were running smoothly. Aro came to the lounge and I almost went downstairs to rip his throat out when I saw him trying to flirt with Bella. When he came upstairs, he just further pissed me off.

"What a hot bitch!" Aro exclaimed. He pulled out a flask and took a swig of its content. "You fucking her yet? She's feisty as hell." I didn't answer; I just glanced up at him. Trying to contain my anger around the son of a bitch was proving to be difficult. Between Bella refusing me today, and this fuck sitting in front of me, I was about to go off. "So how about it, baby blue?"

"What?" I sneered. I was imagining him without a face.

"Ooo…such hostility," Aro laughed. If only he knew. Especially toward him. "When you start fucking her, are you willing to share? 'Cause I could teach a bitch like that a thing or two about manners and how to ride a cock." Fuck, he just signed his death warrant.

"What do you want?"

"To see what you're up to, baby blue."

"Don't call me that," I said through gritted teeth.

Aro smiled and didn't say anything else. He stayed in my office, annoying me, until he got bored and left.

After watching Garrett walk him out, I looked back at the monitor and notice Leah talking to Bella. Bella looked like she was flirting with Leah.

Hold on, was I barking up the wrong tree? Was Bella gay?

I found that shit appealing. But I knew Leah. And she had been with my cousin, Edward, since they knew what to do with their body parts.

The thing was, from what I was looking at, the way Leah ducked her head shyly at whatever Bella said to her, made me wonder if Bella could be that convincing.

I was also jealous of Leah. Bella was talking or flirting with her when she had turned me down earlier.

I called the bar and told Maloney to send Leah up to me. The fucker laughed and hung up. I watched as he told Leah something and she looked up in the direction of the camera. When she walked away, Bella looked toward the camera and I zoomed in time to see her wink and wave at me.

She was fucking with me. And damn if I didn't like it.

"What was that about?" I asked Leah as soon as she walked into my office.

"Nothing." She laughed. "Bella asked to talk to me. She told me you were watching and I should play along. She made it look like she was flirting with me and it didn't take long for you call me away. Maloney and I and just about everyone knows you want her and I know why it's a bad idea."

Leah knew about James.

"We both know why it's a bad idea," she said softly, taking a seat across from me. She knew what Bella would most likely do to me. She would want to stop Bella at all cost. I didn't want it. I wouldn't need her protection when the time came. She knew this. We have argued about it.

"Yeah, we do," I said. "But I can't help it. One last hurrah."

Leah scoffed and got up. "If you change your mind…" She left with the sentence hanging in the air.

If I wanted to, she would stop Bella in her tracks.

Later in the night, I went down to the lounge. The music was thumping and Bella was dancing around Maloney while she served drinks. I ignored the bar after a while. Instead I stared out at the gyrating crowd, lost in thought, when she walked up. I nodded to Leah to let her through. Leah gave me a look but I ignored it. She wanted me to do this, right? Going after Bella was the wrong move. I should go back to being the asshole I was.

Fuck 'em and make 'em leave.

Nameless, I called her that because there would be no need to remember her name, sat down and flirted with me. Bella served us. She didn't look pleased at Nameless being at my table. I stared at her sternly, making her disappear. Nameless felt like she was on top of the world to be talking to Jasper Whitlock. If she thought this went beyond tonight, she was sorely mistaken. I just wanted to fuck. This was going to be hard and fast.

I invited her up to my office after a dance. I watched her walk up the steps ahead of me. She was appealing enough. The kind of girl I usually went for; beautiful, looked like a model with legs that went on for miles. She was in a dress short enough to make me see the Promised Land.

As soon as I closed the door, she was on me. It was okay. She was eager. That was good.

By the time I had her naked, she had my hardness down her throat. She swallowed around me and again, it was okay. I let my mind go blank. This would work. It had to.

She sucked until I came in her mouth and she gulped down everything I had to give.

"Mmm…you taste so good."

Wait, what?

I wanted to laugh but that would kill the mood. Her voice was so nasal. I was doing my best not to let it irritate me. "I want you to fuck me raw…" she said in a squeaky voice.

Was that supposed to be sexy? Damn, she had the body, but not the voice or the right words. I didn't stop to think about it. To shut her up, I bit her neck and she moaned and then giggled, squirming away. "That tickles." She pouted, trying to look sexy.

My dick was getting hard and I wanted to get this over with. If I didn't want another release, I would have said 'fuck it' and sent her on her way.

"Come here." I dragged her over to my desk and put her on top of it. I spread her legs and went between them. After rolling on a condom, I wasted no time in ramming my cock into her. She moaned and thrashed against me, begging me to go deeper. I did and earned a howling sound that reminded me of an animal I couldn't name right now.

"Oh…uh…uh...Yes…Jasper…oh…uh…" Nameless groaned.

I felt the tightening in my stomach and I wanted it to take me over, giving me the release I craved, but nothing would happen. I was tethering close to an edge my body refused to fall over until I traded Nameless for Bella. As soon as I thought of her, I felt like I could fuck all night.

I pulled out of Nameless and flipped her on her stomach. I fucked her from behind. Only it wasn't Nameless who glanced back at me and winked, challenging me to fuck her harder, it was Bella. It wasn't Nameless tightening around me. She wasn't the one I heard telling me she was coming, it was Bella's alluring voice beating in my head.

Unfortunately, Nameless's nasal voice seeped through my sub consciousness and I almost lost my high.

Bella wouldn't let me.

I didn't know when she came into my office. I didn't care. All that mattered was she was here, and my high had returned even if I wasn't fucking her.

"Looks like you took my advice," Bella said as she circled my desk, coming to stand next to me.

Nameless went back and forth between being shocked Bella was in here with us and telling me to keep going. I think she got off on being watched.

"I had to." I moaned. "Someone denied me earlier."

Bella moved closer, running her hand down my chest. "I don't think you can handle me."

I continued to fuck Nameless. The tightening in the pit of my stomach growing close to taking me over. "What makes you think so?"

Nameless tightened around me, coming again. I wasn't far behind. I could feel it. I was waiting on Bella's answer. I wanted her voice in my head when I went over the edge. But she didn't answer verbally. She chose to damn near give me a heart attack when she ran her hand down to my balls, groping them. I faltered and she commanded, "Don't you dare stop."

She massaged them while telling me what she would do to me. Her touch was electric. I felt like a live fucking wire. And when I came, my entire body sang. I vaguely heard my own loud grunt before Bella's lips on mine silenced me. She tasted like candy. A sweet, sugary tart, melting in my mouth. I grabbed her hair and pressed my lips harder to hers before she wrestled herself out of my grasp.

I leaned over Nameless's back, watching Bella back away from the desk and walking backward toward the door with a cocked eyebrow. "You're gonna have to come a lot harder if you get to fuck me." She winked and turned around. "You want anything, Boss?" she asked with her back to me.

"No," I said breathlessly.

She nodded and left. Who the hell was that girl?

 _ **Next: Just One Date**_


	7. Just One Date

**Sorry for the break. Thanks for the reviews on the last chapter. Thnx to beanothercullen for looking this over. All further mistakes are due to my meddling.**

* * *

 _ **Bella Swan, 2006**_

I remembered climbing the steps to his office and seeing Leah and two other goons walk away upon my approach. Leah had a smirk on her face. She looked like she knew something I didn't. Like she knew what I was about to do before I decided on doing it.

We passed one another. I stopped in front of his door. I remembered my hand on the knob. I turned it and the door fell open. The sight in front of me was enough to stop my heart and make it beat again. He was magnificent. The power of his thrusts was enough to make me dripping wet. The closer I stepped to him, the more I felt like throwing the girl out of the room and taking her place under him. To watch him fuck her was an intimate pleasure. It was even more gratifying to touch him, and have his mouth on mine.

Alice was fascinated by my recollection of what happened in Jasper's office. "Oh my god! So you walked in on him with some girl and you stayed and helped?" She was mortified, excited and shocked. "I can't believe you!"

I couldn't believe me either. I still don't know why I did it. What kept drawing me to him? What was it about Whitlock? My mind was set on what I was here to do. Yet, he kept creeping in. Little thoughts of him here and there. What the fuck? He stood apart from any guy I had ever come across. He was an enigma. He knew my buttons. When he flirted, I wanted to flirt with him. When he smiled, I liked that it was because of me. I wanted to get to know him. The man outside of the dangerous life. But this shouldn't be. There was no way in hell I would allow myself to be deluded by the very fantasy I was creating to lure Jasper Whitlock into my deadly trap.

Beer dripped down Alice's chin while she went on and on about how she couldn't walk in someone having sex and help them. I tuned her out every now and then, choosing to look around the shady bar we were in. She thought I was a freak. She didn't say it to my face, but it was written all over hers.

"To tell you the truth, I didn't even know what I was doing until I walked back out," I said. It was the truth. Something guided me up those stairs and into that room. Whatever it was, it had been stirring in the pit of my stomach as I watched the girl climb the steps ahead of Jasper. I tried to tell myself it wasn't jealousy. I was not jealous over Jasper. To be jealous over him would be devastating. It would mean I felt something more than hatred for him. And I had a hard time accepting that. I felt nothing for the murderer.

I wanted to believe my own words but something was gnawing at me.

"Hey, Bella, you alright?" Alice asked, waving a hand in front of my face.

"I'm good."

She looked skeptical. "Are you sure?"

I leveled her with a glare.

"Alright. It's just that I've been talking to you and you haven't been answering. It's like you're somewhere else."

I didn't answer her concern. "What were you saying?"

"After you walked out of his office, what happened?"

"His bodyguard, Leah, was waiting on the steps. She had a smile on her face I wanted to smack off." I did. But for a whole other reason. I hated the fact Leah's eyes said, "I knew something you didn't." and I wanted to beat it out of her.

"Did she say anything to you?"

"Nah."

We talked some more about the next day and how to approach this change between Jasper and I.

"We agreed I would do what was necessary," I reminded her.

"I remember," Alice was quick to say. She looked like she wanted to say something else.

"Spit it out, Alice." She was irritating me. I called her to talk but now I felt like being alone. I needed to get my head on straight. I was thinking about Jasper way too much. I was picturing his smile, his eyes, and the gleam of his teeth when he smiled. I was going off the deep end.

"Just be careful, Bella."

"I will be."

She looked unsure, but thankfully said nothing else on the subject. Instead, she returned to her excitement over my bravado. "So what happened with the girl?"

"I saw her coming downstairs shortly afterwards."

"Yeah, we already know he doesn't allow them to sleep over."

I took a swig of my beer while Alice got a contemplative look on her face. I chuckled darkly. "You're hoping I find a way around his rule, Alice?"

"It wouldn't hurt." She didn't even acknowledge my flinch. As messed up as I was for walking in on Jasper, and despite how great it was to fantasy about his well endowed bits, and how great his ass looked, it was nothing but a fucked up fantasy. Knowing I would have to make it come true in the name of justice for Jamie really pissed me off.

"Bella, you're gone again," Alice said with a huff.

"I'm thinking of ways to fuck with Whitlock," I sneered at her.

Alice cocked her eyebrow, apparently impressed by my train of thought. "Thought of anything good?"

"I'm getting there." And I was.

We discussed Jasper until it was time to leave. Before we parted ways outside of the bar, Alice held on to my arm, letting out a heavy sigh.

"What is it?"

She looked at me sadly. "I know why we're doing this and I know I'm not family so maybe my say doesn't count, but…"

"Hey, you're family, Alice." I reassured her.

"Thank you," she whispered. "Be careful, Bella."

"I will."

We went in the opposite direction.

When I got home, I wished it was my real home. Not that it would have made any difference. I would be as lonely there as I was here. Jamie was gone. Rosie was deep undercover. I was alone.

I walked in with a sigh. The black car sitting on the curb didn't go unnoticed by me. It hadn't follow me to or from the bar where I met with Alice. That means whoever it was has been waiting on me to come home. I didn't care who they were. If they made a move, they would be done for. I wasn't in the mood to fuck around.

One thing was sure, it wasn't a government vehicle.

I headed to the kitchen in the dark. I grabbed another beer from the fridge and stood by the sink, drinking it while I watched the car as it sat there on the curb. I could see it perfectly from the kitchen window. It was a black Lincoln but way to too flashy to be government issued.

It sat there while I finished my beer and throw away the bottle and continued to watch. After a few more minutes, it drove off. I smiled and walked out of the kitchen.

Jasper.

I went to the bedroom and stripped. Walking into the bathroom naked with my gun and cellphone in hand, I set them aside to fill the tub with warm water. I was ready for a good soak. I had a feeling I would need more of these warm baths in the future. I was walking a fine line with my eyes wide open and my heart and mind conflicted about the things I would have to do.

I climbed into the tub and laid my head back with a relaxing sigh. I was in there for a good couple minutes when my cell started ringing and for some reason I knew it was him. There were no greetings or awkward conversation. He wanted to know one thing. "You're home safe?"

"Yeah, boss." I smiled. The concern in his tone was appreciated and strangely endearing. I shouldn't be touched by his concern but I was.

I should hang up. "Jasper?" But I don't.

"Yes?" He laughed. The deep and smooth rumble of it sent a shiver down my spine. "You like playing." He noted. This was about earlier in his office.

"Sometimes," I said coyly. Was I flirting? It felt like I was flirting. To hell with it. This would be discussed with my shrink after they locked me up in the loony bin.

He was moving about. I heard a door slam. "Where are you?" he asked.

"In the bath," I said truthfully. "Where are you?"

He groaned. "In my bedroom. Are you naked?"

"Do you take a bath in clothes? You've got issues."

He laughed again. "No, babe. I like being naked." Damn images of naked Jasper started swimming around in my head.

"Having seen you in such a state, I can say it's damn good sight to behold." I was flirting. I was also subliminally telling him to come over and fuck me.

There was rustling in the background. "What are you doing?"

"Getting naked."

I laughed at his brutal honesty. The man had no shame. I liked it. Again, another thing to file away for my shrink. I liked a murdering son of a bitch.

"I think it was only fair we be in the same situation," he said huskily.

I rubbed my legs together; wanting something I shouldn't. And I was about to say something I really shouldn't. "What would you do if you were here, Jasper?"

"Are you looking to get off, Bella?" Again with the honesty. It was refreshing. Most guys were afraid to say what they were really thinking.

"I think it's only fair you return the favor." I ran a hand down my body. I dipped them beneath the water, running my fingers over my throbbing pussy, wanting it to be his hand and his fingers.

"But you left me hanging," he argued.

"Mmmm….I'd like to think it was my suggestion to go find a girl and fuck her."

"I wanted it to be you." He moaned.

"You have me now. Make good on it. Time is precious."

"You drive a hard bargain, Bella." Jasper groaned in my ear.

My fingers felt so good. I pushed two then three inside of me, letting a loud moan. I thought of Jasper's thick cock thrusting into my depths. I was delirious with lust. "The only thing I want pushing in me is your hard cock! Oh God!"

His heavy breathing was all I heard while I pushed myself toward the edge. Then his voice was there, in the dark, guiding me. "You have me, Bella. I'm right there with you, fucking you hard. I want you to come all over my cock. I want to feel your tightness around me. I want to fuck you until you can't stand."

Damn, he talked a good game! His words were fucking hot! I knew he could fuck me until I couldn't stand straight. I have seen the evidence to make his claim a valid possibility.

"Yes, Jasper, fuck me! I want it. I want you." I worked my fingers as deep as they would go.

"You can push those fingers as far as they will go, it will never be enough," he said smugly. I hated him because it was true. "Circle your clit, Bella. Play with it for me. I want to hear you come. I want you coming for me. I want it, baby. I can see you in front of me, taking my cock anywhere I want to put it." He grunted.

Damn I could see it too and it was enough to send me flying over the edge with his name on my lips. I heard a loud grunt in my ear before I dropped my cell on the carpet by the tub and fell back, almost exhausted. I tried to catch my breath, picking up the phone and placing it to my ear to hear Jasper laughing at me.

"Did you drop the phone?"

"Shut up."

He laughed.

"Thanks for that." I hung up before he could say anything else.

I half expected him to call back but he never did. And I wouldn't have picked up anyways.

I got up around lunch time. I overslept. After draining the tub last night, I had dried off and basically crawled to bed naked. I only had enough strength to put my phone on the charger and stick my gun under the pillow. I woke up in the middle of the night, hot and bothered with my heart pounding and my hands shaking as I thought about the vivid dream I had just had.

Jasper had been in the room. It started with our conversation while I was in the tub but it ended differently. This time he showed up, dragging me out of the tub. He took me to the bedroom where he took me over and over again like he promised.

I was so turned on by the dream I had to handle business and go back to sleep.

I crawled out of bed and went for a shower. I had a few things I needed to do today. Maybe they would help me take my mind off of Jasper. I highly doubted that but it felt good to lie to myself for a little while.

After my shower, I got dressed, spread the bed, grabbed my dirty laundry, stuffing them in a backpack. I went to the kitchen where I discovered a leaky pipe I would take a look at when I got back. I got my detergent and walked out, locking up behind me. A neighbor peaked out but quickly disappeared when she noticed me staring at her house. I smiled and hopped on my bike.

Laundry was first. I wanted to get it out of the way. Then I would pick up some groceries and grab a bite to eat and return to the leaky pipe. I could fix a few things around the house. Charlie made sure his kids knew a little bit of everything.

The Laundromat was okay except for the guy who wouldn't take no for an answer. He thought if he followed me around, bugging me with his accomplishments and how great he was, I would say yes to his offer of a date. What was up with this idiot? I was far too annoyed to be nice. So I asked if he had any siblings. He said yes. Two sisters. I told him I would rather fucked them than him.

I was all smiles after he called me a bitch and walked away.

The grocery store was next. There I met an old perv who thought winking was going out of style. He was a fucking stalker too. I saw him in every aisle. I ignored him of course. Well, at least for as long as I could. Until he approached me at the cashier. I told him I was in a committed relationship with my uncle.

With no incidents at the burger joint, I went back to my place in a good mood. Until I saw the cars. The same Lincoln from last night was parked across the street in front of my nosy neighbor's house while a black Cadillac Escalade truck was parked in front of my house. I rode up and stopped at Leah's feet as she leaned against the truck with a sly grin on her face.

"What's the boss doing here?"

She looked back at Jasper, standing on my porch, and then turned to me. "I don't know. I was just told to drive here."

"Just following orders, huh?"

Leah nodded with a smirk. I wanted to slap her.

I rode up the driveway and parked, killing the engine. Jasper stayed on the porch watching me. I spotted Garrett climbing off of his bike with a scowl on his face. I swear the guy was looking to be killed early. I was going to fuck things up just by ripping his head off. What had his panties in a twist?

I rolled my eyes and got off my bike. I held on to my grocery and lunch bag, going up the steps to stand next to Jasper on the porch. We didn't say anything to each other. But when I tried to balance the food in one hand so I could take my key out of my pocket, he took the bags from me. I opened the door and he trailed inside behind me. I walked to kitchen and he followed. Still saying nothing. He had a smile on his face. It looked…happy. I felt like throwing up. I wanted to hate him. In this moment, as we stood here, I wanted to hate him, but for the love of me, I couldn't.

I took the bag from him. I wanted to wipe the smirk off his pretty face.

"You know, you're scaring the neighbors, right?"

"So?"

I smiled but didn't elaborate. He said nothing, but I could feel his eyes on me, watching my every move.

"Why are you here?"

He cocked an eyebrow at me. "It's not evident."

I turned and leaned against the counter on the opposite side of the small kitchen. I chuckled and then smirked at him. "You want me," I stated.

"Yes."

We were about to say something else, when I heard a booming voice and saw my sister break the corner. Rosie looked beautiful as always in her tight blue jeans, stiletto boots, white camisole and a leather jacket with her long blonde hair flowing down her back. I watched as she looked around the room with disinterest and scorn and I secretly thanked her. When we had discussed things, we had decided to be enemies so our story would be more believable. Why would a beauty queen want to be friends with a Goth chick?

"What a dump," she commented.

I glared at her and she scoffed. Jasper scowled at her and she rolled her eyes at him. I wanted to pay more attention to them, but I was too busy staring at the giant standing beside Rosie. Emmett's pictures didn't do him justice. He was a fucking giant! He looked like a linebacker! He leaned down, whispering something in Rosie's ear, making her giggle and forget about her silent quarrel with Jasper. But that was my sister. Not even the most dangerous man in the country scared her. She backed down from nothing.

I turned away from her and Emmett, feeling a pang of jealousy. I told myself this was for the job, for Jamie, but I couldn't help but see happiness in Rosie's eyes when Emmett spoke. She was in love with him. I caught her eyes, and she immediately stopped laughing and wanted to leave. I knew my eyes were in slits. I wasn't only angry at her, but also at myself. Jasper was getting to me. He was unearthing things I kept hidden. Such as desire. I wanted no one. Nothing should be more important than my work because I had nothing else and some arms dealing gangster sure as hell shouldn't be the one to show me how lonely my life truly was.

"Anybody want anything?" I turned away from them and asked.

Rosie spoke first, slamming me. "You've got anything to offer in this place that's sanitary?"

I turned to her with a smirk and starting advancing until Jasper stopped me. He pulled me into his body, wrapping his arms around my waist. The heat radiating from his body was oddly comforting. "If you've got a fucking problem then leave. Nobody asked you to tag along," Jasper said harshly. I was caught between wanting to kick his ass for being rude to my sister and kissing him for defending me.

Rosie almost looked proud. Shit, she has been undercover for too long. It was fucking with her mind.

Then again, who was I to judge?

She rolled her eyes and told Emmett she would be in the car and stormed off.

"I'm sorry about my girlfriend," Emmett apologized with a gentle grin. "She can be a bit much. She's a nice person though."

"Sounds like you spend a lot of time apologizing for her," I said to Emmett as I shrugged Jasper off. He smiled and kissed me on my cheek before letting go.

"Kitty's got claws," he said with pride to Emmett.

I rolled my eyes at the remark. I had more than that. I had guns, bullets, knives…

"You should go before she comes back in here to drag you off."

Emmett smiled at me and then looked at Jasper. The two of them having a silent conversation. "Bella, I'll take that beer to go."

"Yeah." I got him his beer. He thanked me and popped it open, taking a long drink. "Aren't you afraid of the cops?" There was something about Emmett. He was friendly. It was hard to look at him and see the coldblooded murderer he was. Make no mistake, Emmett was as cold as Jasper. I supposed that was what drew their victims in. Aside from the initial fear, Jasper and Emmett looked like they could be your best friends.

"We own the cops, Bella." Emmett smirked.

"I believe you."

He wasn't joking. They owned the cops. The head of Chicago Police Department was in Jasper's back pocket.

Just as Emmett left, Michael walked in with his flirt and a sexy smirk on his face that could rival his brother's. "You already know my favorite."

I chuckled and grabbed another beer, handing it to him. His finger brushed mine as he took the beer.

"Don't you have somewhere to be?" The authority in Jasper's voice almost made me shudder.

"Wow…touchy," Michael teased without taking his eyes off of me; daring to give me the once over. His brother shut that down fast. He daringly gave me the once over.

"Well, I've got a leaky pipe to fix and work later."

I moved to walk away but Michael stopped me. "Wait, Bella."

"What is it?"

He looked at his brother expectantly. "Well, get on with it."

"With what?" Jasper mumbled.

"So you're playing dumb," Michael said with a grin.

"Watch it, boy," Jasper warned.

I strode off, heading for my burger and fries. I grabbed my food and jumped up on the counter. I might as well eat while they argue. I took a bite of my food and groaned. It was so good. I didn't even realize how hungry I was until I started eating. Half way through with my food, I realized the place had gone silent. Both brothers were staring at me shoveling the food in my mouth. "What? I'm hungry." I should be kind. It was probably the first time they have seen a woman eat normal food and not the bird food their model/sluts usually pretended to eat.

I polished off my fries while they watched. "What? What the fuck is wrong with you two? You've never seen a woman eat actual food?!"

Leah snorted, alerting me of her presence and I chuckled along with her. "Their dates are picky with their food."

"Lying bitches," I scoffed while balling up my burger wrapper and tossing it in the trash. "Nothing but net!" I cheered myself then jumped down from the counter.

"Marry her," Michael said to Jasper. "I want her to be my sister-in-law."

"Get away from me!" Jasper chided and I smirked.

Marry me? Poor Michael. I was here to put his brother six feet under. The same place he put my brother. Despite the attraction I felt, I had a mission to complete. And it ended with Jasper Whitlock's death.

Jasper glared at his brother, who just chuckled and took gulps of his beer. "Get on with it." He continued to tease.

I left them and decided to get to the leaky pipe. I moved to the living room with them following and bickering. I ignored them, shrugging off my jacket and throwing it over the arm of the couch. I toed off my boots then walked back to the kitchen.

Jasper followed.

"What are you doing?" He asked as I moved a mat over to the cupboard. I grabbed my tools and opened the cupboard, getting down on the floor. "What are you doing?" He repeated.

"What's it look like? I'm fixing a leak."

"You can fix things." He chuckled.

"Yeah. I'm not helpless."

"Didn't say you were."

Jasper let me work in relative silence. I was thankful. He only had a few questions which I answered vaguely.

"Why didn't you say you had a problem?"

I glanced out from under the cupboard to see his shiny black shoes next to my left leg. "Didn't know I could."

"Why don't you get out from under there and let me call a plumber." Jasper offered.

"No, I got this."

Just as I said it, I got the pipe reconnected. No more leak!

I didn't have time to rejoice before Jasper yanked on my leg, pulling me out from under the sink. I was about to react, and he could see it too because he challenged me with a grin while holding me tightly. "You don't listen, do you?" he said. I extracted myself from his arms with a scowl. "I liked that about you."

I hated how he could anticipate my stubbornness.

I turned away to check my handiwork and was proud of myself. I packed my tools away and then fussed around the kitchen a bit before walking out. I did everything I could to avoid Jasper's eyes. I headed for the bedroom with him trailing behind me. When we walked in, he finally spoke, "What was that last night?"

I looked around and smirked at him. I could be good and deny everything. Chucking it up as a mistake or I could be bad. I shrugged, "That was about an itch that needed scratching. Thanks by the way." I loved being bad.

He looked almost hurt. Almost. He recovered far too quickly for my liking, teasing me right back. "So I'm just an itch?" The grin on his face was enough to make me wet.

I shrugged again. I needed to remain noncommittal. It was best thing to do. Jasper was used to everyone telling him yes.

I wanted him to go. It was enough for now. I needed to get some time to myself. He never said anything incriminating so Alice would get nothing from surveillance.

"Are you going to stay and watch me sleep too?" I asked as I began to undress. I was down to my tank and boy shorts. Jasper stepped closer. He towered over me, taking my face in his hands, pulling me close. His eyes dared me to stop him and every brain cell I had was screaming at me to knee him in the balls. I didn't. I let his lips touch mine. Once then twice. His mouth moved over mine with passion. Every nerve end in my body was screaming for him to never stop. Not even for air.

When he pulled away, I wanted to scream bloody murder. The sensible side of me was reminding me I should be repulsed by this man and I wanted to strangle her.

"Go out with me."

"I can't."

"Why?" Jasper asked. He really wanted to know. I could see it in his eyes.

"I don't form anything with anyone. I mess around and move on."

"I'm not anyone."

"I know who are and I'm not easily bought."

"I didn't think you were." He said the comment more to himself than me. "I know you're smarter than that, Bella."

"Thanks for the compliment."

He smiled. "Still, go out with me."

"Why?"

"Because I can't get you out of my head."

"That's easy," I said. "Get another girl under you."

"Won't help," he told me as he turned to leave.

"Why not?" I asked.

Jasper turned back and I wasn't ready for the honesty I saw in his eyes. It almost knocked me off my feet. "She wouldn't be you."

"Too bad," I smirked.

"Rectify it then. Go on a date with me."

"I can't."

"You do know who I am, right?"

"And I'm still saying no."

Jasper didn't like my answers. His anger was skimming the surface. I kind of wanted to piss him off. I shouldn't be petting him. I should be making this as hard as possible for him. He didn't say another word. Just turned and left, taking his entourage with him.

I fell on the bed with a smile. Good. I had him right where I wanted him.

 _ **Next: Bella on the brain.**_


	8. What are you doing to me?

_**Jasper Whitlock, 2006**_

" _You do know who I am, right?"_

" _And I'm still saying no."_

What the fuck? I couldn't believe this. It wasn't that she turned me down. It was how good it felt. I was officially going out of my mind. Yeah, a part of me felt like shit when Bella said no but another side felt proud. The look in those big brown eyes, the power and conviction in them was astounding. But if she thought I wasn't going to get her, she had another thing coming. My cock thought I was a dumb ass, but my brain thought was busy thinking up the best ways to make Bella play right into my hands and into my bed. To hell with what James thought. I want her.

"She turned you down?" Michael laughed. I ignored his ignorant ass and walked out with Leah and him following close behind. "Oh come on, big bro, don't be like that." He teased. Not because I was devising ways to get into Bella's pants, didn't mean my pride was bruised and I wasn't angry.

I didn't give Michael another chance to say some dumb shit before I had him by the throat on the hood of the car. My brother was still trying to laugh off my angry. I squeezed his throat tighter. I watched his eyes turn red and when he started gasping and fighting, I let out.

"I don't want to hear a word out of you." He tried to talk. "Not a fucking word!"

Leah stepped back. I didn't know she was trying to pull me off of Michael. I got in the back of the Escalade and slammed the door. Garrett got in beside me. "I thought we were waiting for you to fuck her," he said. The stone look on his face made me want to break his neck. He hated Bella for some reason. Sometimes, I wondered if he knew who she really was and was waiting on the right time to strike. Then again, there was no right time for Garrett. If he knew she was FBI like James, Bella would be dead already.

I said nothing. Leah chanced a glance at me through the rearview mirror, a silent conversation passing quickly. We knew the truth. She was in this to the very end. She was the only one I could count on to stand by my side to the end. She started the car and drove off.

"I don't trust her," Garrett said.

"Are you in love with me?" I sneered. "Are you going to profess your undying love for me? What do you care?!"

"No. I just think your little slut is suspicious. There is something off about her."

You had no idea.

A call from one of my goons, Simon, was a fucking blessing. He gave me great news. I now had a way to work off my frustration. Leah looked down at her phone and then met my eyes in the mirror with a smirk. Simon had texted her. "You want to?" she asked and I gave her a look. She smiled. She told me Simon said Peter was already there so we only had to drop Michael off. He didn't think to ask me a thing. I'd talk to him later.

We drop him and Garrett off at New Moon. I wouldn't need Garrett. I could handle this one. I had enough rage to do this.

We pulled up at my warehouse on the waterfront. I liked this one because it was where no one could hear motherfuckers scream. As I got out of the car, I thought about what made some motherfuckers so stupid? I would never know. But it gave me an excuse to teach a lesson every once in a while. A 'do not fuck with me or it would be the last thing you do on this earth' lesson.

It would be this idiot's final lesson today.

I was already pissed off but walking into the warehouse and seeing Aro and Jane standing there with Peter almost gave me a fucking aneurysm. What the fuck were they doing here?

Peter was smiling his sadistic face off but it didn't reach his eyes. I knew my best friend wanted to torture Aro slowly until the asshole begged for death. I wanted to help.

Before I could ask, Peter spoke up. "He wanted to tag along." He nodded toward Aro who threw him a glare.

Aro moved to say some shit. I was on him. "This is my fucking show. I don't want any goddamn interference from you two fucks. Am I understood?"

He gave me a sickening grin. He actually looked proud of me for threatening him. He slapped a hand on my shoulder and I shrugged it off as he said, "Damn, baby blue, you have manned up, haven't you?" He laughed. I rolled my eyes and walked off. "Makes me proud!" He screamed from behind me.

"Fuck you!"

I stalked off to the room Simon had the piece of shit in. I knew Simon already tuned up the son of a bitch. Leaving him prep for my final blow. I didn't need the help, but I welcomed my goons' enthusiasm. I shrugged off my jacket, passing it off to Peter, and rolled up my sleeves. I was ready to work. He was walking in stride with me, silent as a fucking lamb until he decided to disrupt my moment.

"So what'd she say?" He didn't to say who. He wouldn't either. Not with Aro and Jane in earshot. It was my fault anyway. I opened my big mouth and blabbed to him I was going to ask her out.

"No." I grunted at him.

"Damn. She could be playing hard to get?" he suggested offhandedly. I stopped to glare at him. It didn't faze the bastard. "I'm just saying, Jasper. She obviously isn't scared of you, or else she would've said yes. So intimidation won't work."

I rolled my eyes and walked off. "Thanks for the advice, Casanova," I sneered as the punk's screams got closer. I was moments away from satisfaction. But I had to shut Peter up first. "She won't keep saying no. I get what I want." Another scream sounded. Peter and I ignored it. Leah walked pass us and headed into the room. She would take over from Simon until I got there. I had to get Peter off my back first.

He laughed at me. "This chick is tough. I can see it. She's not like the others. As a matter of fact, I've never met anyone more perfect for you. You're the perfect fucking match. Off limits, all about family, screwed up when it comes to love and confused as fuck about what you want even when it's right in front of you."

I almost couldn't answer. I almost stuttered. He had me pegged. Was he right about Bella? Was she as fucked up as me?

His sadistic smirk told me he knew he was reading me like a book. "Don't worry. I'm one of the few who knows you actually feel something. And I have a feeling you're going to be the only one who knows your chick feels anything at all."

I gave him a hard look because he was right. Bella was great at closing herself off. I saw the switch in her bedroom earlier. I watched as she pondered my words, then I saw a little vulnerability in her and then there was nothing. She turned into a fucking robot right before my eyes. I loved that. It was like staring into a mirror. She was everything I was. Just as warm and just as cold. Every fiber in me wanted her.

"I don't want to talk about this, but what's your advice because you're going to give it anyways."

"I don't need to tell you what to do," Peter said with a laugh. "Just think what you'd do and do it to her. Whatever drives you crazy, will do the same to her. I can sense it."

"You can sense it?" What the fuck?

Peter rolled his eyes at me. "Just do that and she'll come running."

I walked away.

In the dream I had of Mom, she spoke about Bella. She talked about how much I would have to Bella how to love. I didn't think she had a problem there. She was on a suicide mission to avenge her brother's death. What could I bring to the table? Bella cared deeply for her family. We were on the same page when it came to those we loved. I was about to do the exact same thing for my family.

I couldn't stand this shit! Why did she have to show up and turn everything upside down? Why did she have to come into my life? Because of her, I questioned things that shouldn't matter to a murdering son of a bitch like me.

I was in the wrong. I knew I was. It was too late though. I was falling for her.

"Back off, Leah!" I shouted as I stormed into the room. Leah dropped the punk to the floor with a thud and backed away. Her eyes were on fire as they always were when she kicked the shit out of someone. She and Simon took a few steps back giving me the space I needed. I squatted down in front of the asshole. He was bloodied and bruised. Simon and Leah had done a number on him.

He looked up at me with his one good eye. He started begging me. Telling me how sorry he was for stealing from me. Telling it wasn't much. It was just a little something to tide him over because his girl on the side had so many demands. I grabbed his throat and listened to the motherfucker choke on his spit and blood. When his eyes looked ready to pop out of his head, I let go and got up. He coughed and choked and coughed, trying to regain his ability to speak.

"Please, Boss, I just…" Blood ran down in his jaw, pleading to the monster in me to come out and play. "I just…" It would be a lie. It was all lies. Except the part about the bitch on the side. She was twenty years his junior. His old ass should have known better. He had a wife. Kids. Peter would send a care package. I was done with this idiot. You didn't cross me, steal from me, basically fucking humiliate me and live to talk about it.

"Just what?! Steal from me!" I stomped over to him, grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and pulled him up enough to punch him in the face. My fist didn't stop while I berated him for being a piece of shit! How dare he steal from me! I took care of my workers. Everyone got what was good. I had enough and I wasn't a greedy motherfucker like this asshole I was killing. "You fuck!" I cursed while kicking his ass.

After a while I stopped hearing the screams. I stopped hearing the grunts. And then there was nothing.

I couldn't stop.

I continued to beat him long after he was dead. I didn't stop until I was tackled by Peter and Simon. Leah sat on me. "Breathe, Jasper!" She ordered. "Breathe!"

I should breathe. I stared at her while taking long breaths; willing myself to calm the fuck down. I wanted to fight against my boys' hold, but it made no sense to kick their asses for helping me. In and out. I needed to focus on that and let Leah's command to calm down wash over me. In and out. That was all I needed to know.

I stepped out of the room I don't know how long later with Aro staring at me like a proud papa. It was fucking disgusting.

"That was impressed, Baby Blue!" He cheered. "You're a beast! I love it!" He slapped me on the back and I snapped and almost attacked him. He jumped back with a loud laugh while Simon and Leah stopped me. I shrugged them off when I was calm enough and headed away from the motherfucker and his dumb bitch before I burn my warehouse down with them inside. I changed clothes and called Garrett. He needed to get over to the warehouse and work his magic. I wouldn't be there. I needed some time.

Leah drove me back home. I wasn't in the mood to talk and she felt likewise. The drive was spent in a comfortable silence.

I stopped outside my door. "Leah, tell Michael I want to see him." I shouldn't be talking to nobody but I needed my little brother to understand. I was his big brother. I had to protect the punk. Even from me sometimes.

"Yeah," she replied while pulling out her phone.

I went inside and headed for my shower. I had changed my clothes but I still felt like crap. I felt dirty. I didn't know if it was an emotional thing or I was literally filthy because I had just beaten someone to death, either way, I didn't like the feeling in the pit of my stomach. It was a nagging feeling. A warning. I was smart enough to know. But it wouldn't matter soon. I didn't plan on getting out of this situation alive.

Kate had prepared something for me to eat and left with a smile like she usually did. Sometimes I thought about being interested in her, maybe fucking around with her wouldn't leave me with confusing feelings like they do with Bella. Bella had me in a mind warp and I hadn't even gotten between her legs yet.

I shook the thought away and shivered. Kate was like family. She was our most trusted housekeeper's kin. Fucking around with her would be like sleeping with my first cousin. And that shit would never happen! Besides, Garrett had a serious thing for Kate. He was just pussyfooting around the situation and pretending like he didn't want her.

Michael came over as I sat down to eat. I told him to join me. He was hesitant. "You're gonna choke me out again if I refuse, are you?"

He had every right to ask.

"No."

He sat down and we started to eat. It was a couple minutes of cutting meat and the clanking and scraping of our forks on our plates before I uttered an apology. "I'm sorry for hurting you."

He chuckled nervously. "I shouldn't have taken it as far as I did, but if the chick doesn't want you, move on. She doesn't know what she's missing."

I laughed. I never thought I could. Usually, it took a bottle of my strongest whiskey to help me function after what I had done. "She…I'll just focus on me for now." I believed my own words. In the next couple of days, Bella would be the last thing on my mind.

Michael and I had a good dinner. He began to open up after my apology. He knew I didn't apologize for nothing. I didn't see the point. I always said or did what I meant. But saying sorry to my little brother was needed. I wasn't about to let my confused affection for a woman come in the way of family. After all, I was about to commit the ultimate sacrifice for them. Especially Michael.

We had a good night and when he left, I felt better. Things were resolved. He was back to his old self. I should take a page out of his book. It was time I went back to being the guy I was before I ever heard of Bella Swan.

The last few days have been good. A bit surprising too. Peter's advice about Bella turned out to be true. The more I ignored her, blocked her access to me, made myself busy when I was around her, too busy to have any time to even try and flirt with her and the more professional I acted without any ounce of malice, the more frustrated and angry she got. She even snapped at a customer the other night I was sitting at the bar talking to Maloney and the girl came up and started flirting with me. I wasn't going to say no. I was following my own advice and being the guy I was before I knew about her. Michael thought it was great. Peter thought I was being childish. I wasn't. I simply decided to not let my dick lead me around because he was interested in chasing Bella.

It didn't matter who I spoke to. Who I flirted with. Even if I fooled around with them, my mind was hardwired to think of no one but Bella. It was a huge problem and one that was becoming extremely inconvenient.

When she snapped at the girl, I had to escort her out of the club and around back to the lockers where I told her to watch herself with my customers. They were the ones putting food her table. Her eyes were wide with innocence and utter confusion. She didn't know what to make of the change. She hadn't anticipated it. She thought she would have shown up to work the day after I asked her out and I would either show her with gifts until she said yes or act like an ass.

I left there and went back to the bar to apologize to my customer. Afterward, I went up to my office and stayed there. Bella brought up my drinks like usual, but I didn't allow her to spend any time around me. A side of me was weak to her and I didn't want that side of me interfering with business. I had shifted my focus to the Chekovs. The faster I got this over with, the quicker everything could fall into place.

For a week, we danced around each other. Michael, Leah and Peter, even Char, all had something to say about it. Maloney said there was so much tension between Bella and me, we were bound to explode. I ignored them. I was doing the right thing.

But it all came to a head on Saturday night. My temptress came to work dressed as the epitome of my fantasies. Black leather jacket with her hair sleeked back, knee-high boots, the lounge's t-shirt, tied at the waist, and a black mini skirt. She was showing a little skin and I wanted to lick it. My pants grew tight the moment I spotted her. I watched her sweet little ass go around back and come back to the bar. I was downstairs at my table, and from where I was sitting, I had the perfect view of the bar. I watched her and Maloney laugh and chat and play around until customers started waltzing up to the bar and hid Bella from my view.

It didn't bother me. Something inside me had clicked. It was as if a light had been switched on. Tonight, everything was about to change. It was a force I couldn't stop.

I didn't know how long I sat there until it became too long and I got up. I made my way to the bar and she saw me coming. I stepped up and waved her over. When she stood close enough, I pulled her closer. "I need to speak with you." I didn't wait for an answer. I turned and left. There were whispers and winks from women as I passed, but I could only afford them a small smile. My mind was elsewhere.

Enough was enough. They were right. I had been fooling myself.

I was sitting on the edge of my desk when she walked into the office. I told her to close the door behind her. "You wanted to see me?" She looked so innocent standing there with her feet together and her hands behind her back. Her head was slightly bowed submissively. I didn't like it. I got up and went to her. "You said…" Her voice trailed off when she saw the look in my face. I didn't know what said, if it conveyed how I was feeling at this very moment, but whatever she had to say, died in her throat.

My heart was pounding. I could almost hear it. "What are you doing to me?"

Her eyes said she understood exactly what I was asking. She couldn't answer.

I felt everything. Lust. Confusion. Anger. It was all bottled into one. I was breathing heavily. I took her shoulders and shook her slightly, asking, "What the fuck are you doing to me? I'm not like this. I don't think about one woman. I fuck whoever I want!" I screamed at her. She still didn't say anything. Just stood there, staring at her like I was her salvation to something. An answer to a question eating away at her. "You. I don't know. I just can't put my finger on it," I said, letting her go and stepping away. She followed, still staring at me. When she stepped close enough, I ran a finger down her cheek. It was soft. "I just know I want you." I told her.

She leaned into my touch, closing her eyes. "I don't know what you're doing to me either," she said softly. She opened her eyes and they met mine. "I usually know exactly what I want. Then you happened and I can't seem to think straight. You're everything that's wrong and I can't stay away."

My lips crashed to hers and she staggered back, taking me with her. We weren't too far away from the door and slammed into it. Bella moaned, grabbing my waist and digging her fingers into the skin beneath the fabric of my shirt. When it got in the way, she ripped it out of my pants and pushed her cool hands underneath it. I groaned into her mouth and pushed my hips into hers so she could feel what she was doing to me. I pushed her legs open with my own, forcing her skirt to ride up, and stepped between them. I jammed my hard cock up against her center. She pushed me away so she could breathe and I watched her eyes darken with lust.

"Say you want me." I told her.

Bella didn't answer. She smirked and pulled me to her, swinging us around and slamming me into the door. Snarky Bella was back and I fucking loved it. "You're good," she said; kissing and biting my bottom lip. "You taste so fucking good."

I pulled her to me and lifted her up. She wrapped her legs around me. I walked us over to the leather couch in the right hand corner of the room and dropped us down on it, much to Bella's laughter. We kissed and sucked on each other's lips while our hands roamed all over one another. She ripped my shirt open and took out my gun, placing it on the table. I usually didn't allow anyone to touch my gun, but I didn't give a shit right now. Bella opened my fly and dipped her curious little hand into it, grabbing my cock and squeezing it.

"Uh fuck, Bella!" I bucked up into her cool hand and she grinned and jerked me some more before deciding it wasn't enough for her and jumped off my lap to pull my pants down.

She was moving to climb back into my naked lap and I stopped her. "No, I want to see you." She licked her lips and my cock twitched but I ignored it. I wanted to see this.

Bella smiled and stood. She pulled her mini skirt and panties off. I was so fixated on her bare pussy that I nearly wept when she lost her shirt and bra. Her breasts were perfect; taut, rosy nipples just begging to be sucked and breasts that were more than enough for my hands.

"What now?" she said in a sultry tone.

"Get over here."

Bella arched a brow at me. "Make me."

I accepted her challenge and got up and went to her, pulling her into a long, slow kiss that left us breathless. I loved her little moans. I moved to her neck; licking and nipping it as I went down to her ripe breasts. They felt so good in my hands but I wanted her nipples in my mouth. I wanted to suck on those hardened peaks. But I had to know something first.

"Why lie?" I asked as I kissed and bit her neck.

"Because I couldn't let you know how much I wanted you," she pulled back and said with a moan.

"You said you didn't date," I countered with a smirk.

"I don't."

I smiled and kissed her hard; moaning as she palmed my cock and stroked it. "You do now."

She pulled away with a mischievous glint in her eyes. "We'll see."

I chuckled at her and then led my lips down her body. "Jasper…" she moaned and I took a rosy nipple in my mouth and sucked hard while massaging the other breast. She was moaning while saying my name in soft needy whispers, making me feel so fucking good! I moved to the other breast and she arched into my touch. "Want you…" she groaned.

"Mmmm…" I moaned back and dropped to one knee.

"Jasper…" I didn't answer her. I looked up at her and then flung one of her legs over my shoulder and took a long lick of her slit. I sucked on her clit hard, and then brought my tongue down to her entrance and pushed it inside her. "Oh Jasper!" she screamed and gripped my hair while trying to maintain her balance.

I was sucked and licked her sweet, wet pussy with the sole purpose of driving her mad. I delved in her soft tangy taste; wanting it embedded on my tongue because Bella was the sweetest thing I have ever tasted. She was ruining me for other women. I would never find this taste again.

I squeezed her ass and smacked it when she moaned loudly. I would have fun with that perky little ass of hers another time. "Uh…Jasper…uh…" Bella was trying to move but I wouldn't allow it. I was in control. I was the only one who would make her come. Her grip on my hair tightened and her moans sounded heavy. I smirked as she pleaded with me. All she could say was my name. "Jasper…Jasper…." She was fighting to move but I wouldn't let her. I gripped her waist tight, grounding her before she lost her balance.

"I can't…" she said, letting me know she wanted to come. I doubled my efforts; fucking her with my tongue. Bella's moans turned into screams and when she came in my mouth, I licked every drop of her until her knees wobbled.

I pulled away and Bella collapsed on top of me, breathless and chuckling. "That was…" She looked at me in awe, and suddenly, all of her cockiness was gone as she looked deep into my eyes and said, "I wanted it to be me."

I knew what she was talking about. The other day when I was fucking that girl over my desk. "That girl?" She nodded and I admitted the truth. "I pictured you."

She smiled up at me and kissed my lips; moaning at the taste of herself on them. "You taste good."

"No, you taste good." She laughed at my correction and started to kiss her way down my body. I laid back and let her. I loved how her tongue felt on my skin; smooth and wet. I loved everything about this girl and I was quickly realizing I could love her.

I was so fucked.

Bella's tongue dipped into the slit of my cock, causing me to leave coherent thoughts behind and push up against her. "Fuck!" I groaned. She chuckled against my dick before sucking the head into her hot little mouth and working her way down my cock. She sucked me hard. And it took all I had to lie back and not fuck her mouth but Bella wasn't having it. She pulled away.

"Come on, baby," she got up and said in a husky voice, "Fuck my mouth."

Holy hell!

Bella took my cock back into her mouth before I could answer. I obeyed the lady's command and fucked her mouth. I grabbed her hair, held it tight and guided her rosy lips down on me until she deep throated me. Bella worked me over until I came, shouting her name.

We didn't waste time after that. I got up, admittedly I staggered, and Bella laughed. I ignored her as I grabbed a condom and went back to her. She took it from me, ripping the wrapper open with her teeth and then grabbing my hardening dick to roll latex down my length. I was transfixed. I didn't know putting condoms on could be sexy.

"Are we going to do this or what?" she asked, snapping me out of my admiration. I pushed down and climbed on top of her. She laughed. "You're looking at me like I had the secrets to the universe."

"Shut up." I pushed into her without another word. We moaned in unison at the feeling of completion. It felt like…relief.

We rolled around on the floor. I fucked her. She fucked me. In the midst of it, Bella would be whispering things like, "I shouldn't want you…uh…I shouldn't want you." While she rode me. At time she looked angry. With herself. With me. I didn't know. I didn't care to. I was enjoying this too much. If she killed me now, I would die a happy man. "This is wrong…uh…shouldn't want you so much." Se clamped her eyes and dug her nails into my chest while she rode me hard. Her movements were growing erratic. She was about to fall over the edge. I spun us, taking control as I threw her to the floor and threw a leg over my shoulder. Bella shouted for the heavens as I drove into her. Nothing had ever sounded more satisfying.

"I want you and I'll have you!" My thrusts were hard and Bella took it all. She gripped my shoulders and allowed me to pound into her. Fuck her the way she deserved to be. To fulfill her in the way she should be. By no one else but me. I felt possessive. I didn't want anyone to have her. Ever. But when I prevent that?

I couldn't think about that now.

Our hips rocked into each other's as Bella pleaded to let her come. And when she finally let go I wasn't too far behind. The tightness of her was astounding. She was the best I had ever fucked.

Long after, we laid on the carpeted floor in each other's arms staring up at the ceiling.

"What happens now?" Bella asked.

I kissed her forehead and whispered, though I didn't how I would keep up my end of the deal. "Everything."

 _ **Next: "I need help."**_


	9. Whatever It Takes

_**Bella Swan, 2006**_

I could feel him. Heard his words. Felt his fingers wrapped around my own as my hand was firmly planted in his while we left the club. I could feel the others eyes on us. I could feel their happiness. This was meant to happen in their eyes. Whether I was just another fling or a girl he would keep around for a while, the tension was too great for Jasper and I to resist. We were meant to be.

 _Meant to be._

The thought of it was supposed to make me sick. Where was the nausea? Where was the need to throw up? I looked into his eyes, his bright gleaming eyes, and saw nothing but calm. I felt nothing but peace. What was wrong with me? This was wrong. I should be screaming in agony. I should feel disgusted with myself. But as we drove away from club, when he reached over the console and took my hand…the worry, my pain, my sadness, it all faded away.

This wasn't right. It shouldn't be. I should take this opportunity to kill him. We were alone. He had insisted on us being alone. Leah was probably trailing us, but we were alone. I could kill him. I should _want_ to kill him, yet there was a storm raging inside me. Rationality fought for control as my crazy side said fuck it all to hell, this would never happen again, just go with the flow. No other man would affect me the way Jasper did. I wrestled for control while Jasper drove to my house with a blissful look on his face. I wanted to cut it off. He killed my…

I didn't feel the car slow to a stop. I just felt his lips, and my hands wrapping around him, pulling him closer. I pulled him over the console. I wanted him everywhere, on top of me, underneath me, inside me. I wanted nothing but him to surround him. There was something about him. Something magnetic. Something poison. And I craved it more than anything in the world.

I could see his face as I emptied my stomach's contents into the toilet while I choked and cried. I couldn't breathe. I shook and screamed as I saw Jamie's face in front of me. He looked disappointed, but I had to do it. I had to sleep with Jasper. Logic had finally found me on the steps on the rundown house I was supposed to be staying in because I was an army brat who didn't like to stay in one place for too long after Jasper dropped me off with one final kiss. After we had fucked in the car. A part of me was sorry and another part wasn't. Sleeping with Jasper had awoken something in me. A secret that had been unearthing itself. A truth that should be denied. There were some things I couldn't tell anyone. Some truths should remain buried or else. I held those secrets. This would just be another one of them.

I felt something for Jasper. I had feelings for my brother's killer.

After picking myself up of the floor, ready to clean myself up, I brushed my teeth and flushed away the contents of my stomach. I would be alright after I got cleaned up. I had to keep whatever feelings I had developed for Jasper buried. I was here to nail his ass to the wall no matter what I had to do. But why did I feel so conflicted? No. I won't think about it. It was just my foolish hormones tricking me and a nice shower would put me back on track.

I took a long shower. I got out and dressed for bed. I placed my gun under my pillow and jumped in, ready to let sleep take me. I was exhausted. Then my phone buzzed with a text and every wall I had carefully constructed a couple minutes ago crumbled when I read it.

 _Pick you up at seven tomorrow night. JW._

I dropped the phone and screamed until the bile rose in my throat again and I ran to the bathroom. Every thought and touch came racing to the forefront of my mind. I felt him, heard him, saw him, needed him. I wanted him here telling me it was okay to be confused. It was okay to care about him. I wasn't going crazy. We were in this together. We weren't making fools of ourselves. This was real. We had found something under fucked up circumstances.

What the hell was I thinking about? I was fucked in the head and thinking crazy but as I coughed and pulled up from the toilet and flushed it, Jasper's smiling eyes flashed across my mind and I sobbed. I could hear him in my head, _"Oh, Bella,"_ as I curled into a ball on the floor. I ran my hand down my body and gripped myself down there. I could still feel him inside of me. And I wanted to feel guilty. To feel like the slut I should feel like. But the feeling wouldn't come. Just comfort. Completion. It was devastating. _"Uh, Bella."_ The sound of his voice in my mind made me cry.

I was still on the floor, crying like a baby, when she walked in. She didn't ask anything stupid. She just bent down and cooed my nickname in my ear while running a hand through my sweaty hair. "Shh…it's okay, Honey Bee." I sobbed at the sound of Rosie's voice. I really needed my sister. She lay down behind me and wrapped her arms around me. "It'll be alright," she whispered.

"It won't!" I screamed and sobbed. "He fucked me! And…"

"You were okay with it," she finished for me.

We stayed on the floor until it I felt like I was drifting away. Rosie got us up, got me cleaned up and sent me to bed. I lay there, staring at the ceiling when she joined me. "How do you know?" It wasn't the best question. Of course she understood. She was in a "relationship" with Emmett. Just how real was the relationship to my sister though? "How deep are you, Rosie?" I asked as I turned to face her. I had to look in her eyes. Rosie's eyes never lied to me.

"I know," she whispered, looking away for a second too long for me to realize she cared about Emmett. I sprang up from the bed and jumped to my feet.

"How could you?!" I shouted. "They murdered Jamie!"

Rosie jumped to her feet as well. Fury radiating off of her. "You think I don't know what happened to our brother? You think I don't want to kill the guy who pulled the trigger?"

"As long as it isn't Emmett," I said in a snarky tone.

"Don't!" She reprimanded me. "Don't you dare!"

"Don't I dare?" I yelled. "You're the one in love with the enemy!"

"You're the one falling for Jasper!"

There it was. The truth gnawing at the pit of my stomach. I was falling for my brother's killer. This wasn't what I had planned on happening. I couldn't admit it. Not to Rosie and definitely not to myself. "Shut the hell up! I am not falling for anyone!"

She snorted. "Please! I've seen you two. Neither one of you have ever been so head over heels for anyone. I know you, but I've learnt a lot about Jasper from Emmett and Peter and apparently, you're the only thing on his mind these days."

"Then I'm in," I said coolly. It was a lie. To know he cared about me was confusing as fuck. I felt like banging my head against the wall. I had to get him out of there. He was a target. A murdering son of a bitch I was going to take down. That was it! Why couldn't I focus on that? It was the only truth that should matter to me.

Rosie sat on the edge of the bed. "I'm learning a lot of things, Honey Bee. Things we weren't aware of from the outside. For instance, there is a mole in the Whitlock gang."

"Yeah. It was Aro's cousin," I said, rolling my eyes. "We know that shit already."

"No."

I looked at my sister. She wasn't lying. "There is someone else. Emmett is keeping it under wraps. I think he has an idea of who it is but he won't say."

"Won't they kill this person?"

"Yes. With the Chekov deal on the line…" Rosie started.

"There can no fuck ups." I finished for her.

"Exactly." Rosie chuckled.

"What? What are you laughing about?"

"Can you imagine if we could get our hands on this person? The amount of information we'd get?" Rosie was gleaming.

"So what? Even if we did get our hands on this person, they probably don't know enough." I hated to burst her bubble.

Rosie looked at me like I was dumb. "You don't get it."

"What don't I get?"

"If Emmett is aware or has an inkling of someone who's possibly a snitch and he ain't talking it's because the person is high up. It's a high ranking member of the gang. Not even Caius was top level like this person."

That got me thinking. "Who the hell is it?"

"I don't know. But they are willing to go through hell for what they are about to do," Rosie said.

"Whoever it is, they're not going to live through this."

"I know," Rosie said. I went and sat down beside her; laying my head on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry for what I said. I was wrong. You're human and you've been undercover for a while. Sure, you caught some feelings for the guy. He isn't bad on the eyes."

My sister laughed loud and heartily. "Thanks for understanding. This is between…"

"I won't tell Dad."

"Thanks."

Dad didn't need to know everything. Some things were just between sisters. I would carry my sister's secrets to the grave.

We sat there for a while. Eventually laying down and almost drifting off together like we used to when we were kids. "He wants to see you again." Rosie wasn't asking. She was stating.

"Where is he?"

"I left him at Emmett's, happy as lark. I don't think I've ever seen him smile so hard. It was almost blinding. Even though you're sick to your stomach about what you had to do, sis, you did put it on him good."

I smacked her on the shoulder. "Shut the fuck up!"

We were silent and then we were laughing and play fighting in the bed. This was what I needed. My sister. She was the only one who could have made it okay.

When we settled down, Rosie reminded why we were here. For Jamie. It didn't matter what we felt, we were here to bring criminals to justice and avenge our brother.

I was drifting off when Rosie's voice broke through the haze. "I've gotta go. I just needed to be with you because we won't be together tomorrow and I don't know how we'll make it through the day."

Her words. The need to be with her. No. It couldn't be. Not so soon. Tomorrow would have been she and Jamie's birthday.

My eyes snapped open and I looked up at my big sister as tears fell from hers. I threw my arms around her. We hugged tightly. I wouldn't let go. I hugged her until I fell asleep.

I woke up screaming hours later. The dream was so real. Jamie was here and Mom surprised us for my brother and sister's birthday. The only thing was, her surprise was one of horror. She shot Jamie and Rosie in front of me and was running me down to kill me. I couldn't find anywhere to hide from her until Jasper pulled me into a room and locked the door. He told me he loved me and he would always protect me.

What did it mean? I didn't care. I fell back on my pillow in tears. Today would have been Jamie's birthday. It was Rosie's and I was happy, but it wasn't the same without Jamie.

The phone was ringing in a distance. I was crying, angry at myself, angry at the world. I wanted my brother back. I answered without a second thought. "Hello," I croaked.

His frantic voice filled my ear. "What's wrong? Did something happen to you? You didn't answer my text. Are you okay?"

If I closed my eyes tight enough, I could picture Jasper as a great guy; kind hearted and wonderful. Someone who truly cared about me and not the murdering bastard he was. He would come over here and comfort me. Be with me. Let me cry on his shoulder even though I had never really pictured myself relying on anyone besides my family, but with Jasper I was suddenly willing to make an exception.

A sob escaped me and he heard it.

"Bella, tell me what the fuck is wrong?!" A door slammed and he said something to someone.

I couldn't talk. I just hung up. It rang again. I didn't answer.

It kept ringing.

I must have passed out from crying. I was physically and emotionally exhausted, but I could hear someone screaming my name and pounding on the front door.

"Bella! Open the fucking door!" He was here. Jasper was here. I tried to see the valiancy in that but I could only see Jamie's smiling face and I broke down again. I was losing it.

Jasper kept pounding the door until I heard it kicked in. There were loud footsteps and then he burst into the bedroom, came over to the bed and grabbed me up, shaking me lightly.

"What's wrong? What happened?!"

I wanted to scream at him. I wanted to kill him. I wanted to hug him. I wanted to tell him the truth but I had to lie.

"Today was the anniversary of my parents' death," I sobbed as I thought about my brother.

"Shit," Jasper muttered and hugged me.

I was a blubbering mess because not only had I lost my brother, I was disgusted with how good it felt to be in Jasper's arms.

"It's okay, baby." My head felt like exploding when he called me that. He lifted me up with my blanket. "Grab something for her to wear," he ordered someone. I heard rustling around the room and drawers being open and shut.

I buried my face in Jasper's neck and he seemed okay with it. "You have a gun?" he said with surprise and I nodded and cried into his neck. Whoever was rummaging through my things, must have found it under my pillow. "Grab it," Jasper told the person.

He walked out of the room with me in his arms. I was taken outside and placed in the back of a SUV. Jasper climbed in with me. As soon as he got in, I crawled into his lap. There was warmth there. Safety. I felt safe in this monster's arms.

Jasper was more than willing to hold me while he ordered someone to ride my bike to his penthouse. I was shaking with sobs on his shoulder. Everything was so messed up. What was wrong with me? How could I feel safe with Jasper? How depraved was I to want my brother's killer? "Shh…it's alright, baby. Do you want to talk about it?" Jasper asked, clueless to my inner turmoil.

I didn't answer. I just gripped the lapel of his coat for dear life and cried my heart out. I could see my family during happier times. I could see myself trying to race my brother on a beach. I would never be able to do that again. He was gone.

"He's gone!" I blurted out and started to hit Jasper. Small punches to his shoulders and neck and chest that got stronger and stronger as I cried for my brother. "He's gone! Oh God! He's never coming back!" I was falling apart.

Jasper wrestled me to lie down on the backseat. Someone was asking if they should pull over and he yelled no to them as I punched him in the face. He got a hold of my hands and held them above my head as I bawled. "Calm down!" Jasper screamed at me. I silenced and stared into his eyes in the passing streetlights. He looked worried. He was beautiful. His eyes held so much emotion. I couldn't understand it. He had feelings?

"I won't have to keep him away from the stove again because he can't cook for shit, Jasper!" I yelled at him. I couldn't accept my reality. I was so confused. I was losing it. I knew I was.

"Bella…" Jasper tried. His face saddened. "He's in a better place." He sounded like he believed what he was saying. "It's far better than the hellhole we're stuck in."

Something in those words spoke to me. They were enough to calm me down.

Jasper must have seen the change in my eyes. He got off of me and sat back on his side of the backseat. I jumped up and crawled right back into his arms. I wasn't ready let the safety go. I cried softly until I passed out in his arms. Jasper did nothing but hold me close.

 **~~dkol~~**

I woke up in the softest, biggest bed I had ever been in with Jasper beside me rubbing my back while I lay on my stomach. I stared at him until I started crying softly. He kissed my hair, my cheeks, and my neck, whispering comforting words to me.

A woman came into the room. Jasper called her Charlotte. She smiled at me sadly and gave him some clothes I assumed were for me and left. I saw Peter and Michael looking in on me with sympathy before Charlotte closed the door behind her.

Jasper pulled me close and held me. I inhaled his manly scent and remembered Jamie. I wrapped my arms around him tightly and cried until I passed out again.

I woke up to the sun warming the room. The drapes were open and I was lying on something warm and moving. "Are you up?" he asked tentatively.

"Yeah," I croaked. My throat felt sore.

I slowly moved away from him and he let me. I sat up and looked down at myself, seeing I was still in my tank top and boy shorts from last night. When I looked at Jasper, he was in blue jeans, a t-shirt, a knee length coat and bare footed.

"I didn't want to move you last night so I just toed off my shoes and stayed dressed," he explained.

I tried to smile. "I must look like hell. I bet your others girls don't look like this in the morning," I said, even though my file on Jasper's activities stated he never let a woman spend the night.

"I wouldn't know," he said smoothly and came close to kiss my hair. "You're the first girl to stay over."

I smiled. A part of me found the thought endearing and the other side of me was disgusted with my happiness.

The thought made me cry.

Jasper pulled me into his arms. "No…no…no, Bella, don't cry. It hurts. I know how much it does. I lost someone. I've lost a lot, but trust me, in time, you'll learn how to remember them for the good times and pray they're okay wherever they are."

His words held truth. Maybe one day, I could think about Jamie and only remember the good times. I won't burst into tears and cry until there is nothing left in me. One day.

Jasper pushed me back gently, instructing me to lie down. He pulled the covers over me. He got up and I watched him strip down to his boxer briefs. He climbed into bed and got under the covers with me, pulling me close. Again, the betraying safe feeling curled into my stomach like a tight knot. I felt like a traitor for craving the surety Jasper made me feel while I lay in his arms, but I was selfish. I couldn't give him up yet. I wanted to believe it was because I had watched him undress, my lady bits were thinking for me. Or it was this caring nature he was displaying that was confusing the shit out of me. I wanted to find every excuse to not feel the guilt I was feeling, but Jasper's beauty wasn't to be denied. It was distracting enough.

His body was beautifully sculpted; his upper torso littered with tattoos. Crosses were on both shoulders showing his Catholic heritage. There was a heart with thorns and an elegant 'T' in it which I believed was a tribute to his late mother, Tanya Denali Whitlock. She passed away when Jasper was nineteen after being diagnosed with ovarian cancer two years earlier. There were other tattoos, all alluring to admire. Especially the dagger on his right calf with a 'W' in it representing the family name, Whitlock.

Jasper was a very handsome man. And he was just that too. All man. The rugged looking type of guy I was attracted to if I took the time to look. He had piercing blue eyes. Staring into his eyes for too long was dangerous. They were dizzying. His smile was disarming. He could get anything he wanted if he smiled at you. There were other attributes I had been privy to seeing in his office last night. Like his ass. It was perfection. His dick was…No! That was where I drew the line. I couldn't go on. I wouldn't end up under him again. Last night, something happened to me, and while I regret fucking my brother's killer, if I could separate the two side of this guy, I could enjoy the thought of how good it felt to be with him last night.

He picked up a remote and pointed it at the drapes. He pressed a button and they automatically closed.

"What are you doing?" I asked softly.

"We're going to lie here until you feel better then I'm going make you something to eat. After that, we're going do whatever you want to do for the next twenty four hours. That's what I'm doing."

"Why?"

He looked at me long and hard before he whispered with enough care in his tone to melt my cold heart. "Because I care about you, and yes, I know it's fast and it feels wrong, but I don't mince words. There's no sense in it. As much as I don't understand this love shit, I know I feel something deep for you and I can only hope you feel the same since I'm falling for you. So shut up and let me take care of you."

I smiled and placed my head on his chest, breathing him in while I thought how fucked up my life is.

Why couldn't this be a movie or a book? I could just make Jasper a good guy and everything would be perfect. Jasper would be someone I could have; someone I could love.

It wasn't. This was reality. Jasper was falling for me and I was here to kill him. He would die for what he did to my brother. And I would bring down one of the deadliest guy in the Whitlock gang.

It should be so simple. But as I lay on his chest, I couldn't help but wonder. Who was Jasper Whitlock? Was he the man I wanted him to be or the murderer I knew him to be? How could he be caring and have all the right things to say and still be the terrible bastard I have in my file? Where was the guy who would kill whoever crossed him? Where was the guy who got his first kill at nineteen and hadn't stopped since? Who was this caring guy telling me he was falling for me? Wasn't he Nicky Whitlock's son? The heir to his bloody throne? The murdering son he admired? Where was the cold and vicious guy everyone feared?

Again, I asked myself, who was Jasper Whitlock?

Someone I could fall in love with. That's who.

 _ **Next: Jasper's take, a good 24 hrs and a date.**_


	10. Date or Two

_**Jasper Whitlock, 2006**_

* * *

She got up when she thought I'd fallen asleep. Moved down the bed and sat there quietly until I heard the sniffles she was trying to muffle in the silent room. She'd felt so right in my arms. I missed her there but she had to do this. To let it out. It was painful but there was nothing she could do but face it and I wished I could help her the way I truly wanted to.

That was a bad idea. I was pretty sure she was going to decapitate me when she found out the truth.

I had a lot to worry about. Emmett was sniffing around. My buddy was smart. He was going to figure it was me eventually. He might see the shit as betrayal, but I gotta do what was necessary to keep my family safe. His punk ass included.

She crawled back into my supposedly sleeping arms when she was all cried out and fell back asleep. We stayed like that for a while.

At least until my hunger got the better of me. Fuck it, I was downright starving.

Slowly, I detangled myself from Bella's arms and got out of bed. She murmured my name and I smiled. I couldn't believe it. Cold blooded Jasper Whitlock was turning into a pansy ass over a woman calling his name in her sleep. I should just shoot myself now and save Bella the trouble of wasting a bullet on my dumb ass.

I rolled my eyes at myself and left for the kitchen.

Leah was in the living room. She glanced up at me as I went by with a sly smile on her face I was trying to ignore. I started opening and closing my cupboards as I thought about what to make. Whatever it was, it would be enough for Bella and me. Leah already had food in her hands.

"You know Kate left food," she said offhandedly.

"I want to make something."

"Oh yeah, you want to impress her for your cooking skills," she teased.

"Don't you got somewhere to be?" I tried to sound pissed, but failed miserably. Leah wouldn't care anyways. The woman had a force field around her emotions. She was a stone cold killer, so what should I expect.

"No," she said bluntly. "You're home so I'm here."

"Nice to know," I said, rolling my eyes and turning back to my search for ingredients to what I had decided to make.

Leah came in the kitchen and placed her plate in the sink. I looked at her and she chuckled and rinsed it off. She dried the plate and placed it in my dishwasher. She was taking her sweet time. She lived to torture me. It was her hobby. I felt like I would rather her shoot me in the leg than just stand there not talking.

To hell with it. I didn't need to hear what she had to say anyway. "Don't start," I said. But I knew Leah. She would say her piece whether I wanted to hear it or not. She was one of few people I allowed to speak freely to me. "I don't say shit about you and my cousin."

"That's because you're usually an asshole to women," Leah countered. "Edward's a gentleman."

"He's a pussy."

She laughed. "I've fucked him. Trust me, he's not."

"Damn, Leah! I don't need details! I'm fucking scarred now. Fuck, now I'm picturing my cuz naked. That's disgusting!"

Leah laughed again. "Serves you right."

I glared at her. She cocked an eyebrow at me. "Don't expect me or the others not to be shocked when you haul ass outta here to go for a girl crying about her dead relatives, take her back here, don't fuck her, and let's her spend the night. You even held her while you two slept. What the fuck, Jasper?"

"Spying on me again?" I chuckled. Maybe I could avoid answering her invading questions by pushing her buttons since I had been asking myself the same things she was undoubtedly about to say. I had to avoid it. "Does Edward know you're a voyeur? Or are you two into kinky shit?"

"Fuck off," Leah scoffed, making me laugh. "And stop avoiding the issue." I gave her a stern look. I didn't want to talk about it. "I know you don't want to talk about it. I know you don't understand it. But I know what it feels like and what it looks like."

"I…"

"Shut up and listen," Leah said in a stern voice. "You're about to start some shit with this girl you won't be able to get out of unscathed."

"What the fuck does that mean?" I knew exactly what it meant. I was about to start something with Bella. Something outside of booty calls. Something that could shatter the last pieces of my heart.

Leah saw right through me. The crazy side of me wanted her to. Maybe she could talk me out of it since she understood what it was like to straddle the lines between the good and evil in people like us. Leah was a killer like me yet she loved my cousin Edward with everything in her. I swore if someone touched Ed, and I didn't get to them before her, Leah would fucking bury their family. No one could touch a hair on my cousin's head and live to talk about it as long as she was breathing.

Those two had been together since they figured out what to do with their private parts. There was no one else for either one of them.

A twisted, fucked up part of me wanted what they had. But could anybody love me despite the monster I was? I wanted the whole works. The wife. Kids that looked like me and her. Some brats I could pass the family's legacy of guns, blood and money to. It was a foolish dream I once had. What life would be like if I be like my cousin and the closest thing I had to sister?

It wouldn't happen though. Not in this life. The end was near for me and I felt sad about it. Or maybe it was my long lost conscience finally making an appearance.

"First of all, Edward and I aren't into kinky shit." I knew that got to her. I smirked as she came to stand beside me, smacking my arm. "We're different from you."

"Yeah, you've been fucking since you two knew what fucking was," I countered and Leah rolled her eyes at me.

"I don't know why I bother sometimes." I didn't know why she did either. Fuck penance. I was going to hell.

"Then don't." I told Leah.

She closed her eyes and sighed then opened them to me. They held so much determination, it was scary. She looked like she was about to rip me apart. "She looks like a good person, Jasper. Don't fuck it up. I know who she is and I know what's at stake, but maybe, you could live for a while. Until it all comes crashing down."

I turned away from her. I needed a moment. She was right. It would come crashing down on my head. No matter how I spun it, I was about to do what I would kill a man for if he did it to me. Snitch. All in the name of family. The only thing was, this would be my way and I wasn't going down before I saw my enemies fall. I was dragging those bastards to hell with me.

"What's with you and Edward wanting me to be happy?" It was a good way to distract her.

"We've got only one life, Jasper. Might as well live it to the fullest."

"So my cousin is your slice of heaven?" I really wanted to know. I wanted to know if what I was feeling Bella, true.

Leah didn't even hesitate. "Yeah. He's everything I know I'll miss out on when I die." I sighed and looked away again while she went on, "You and I have sinned in some terrible ways, Jasper." Leah chuckled. "To love, to truly love someone who loves bastards like us back is a fucking blessing. I don't see it any other way."

"So what are you saying?" I asked. "Bella's my angel? My last shot at redemption?"

I believed in God. I believed in forgiveness. Even if I thought I was too far gone.

Leah smirked. "She's here, isn't she?"

"Yeah," I said harshly, turning back to her and getting in her face. "Under what pretenses?"

"Who gives a shit?" Leah countered. "She's here and she's in the same boat as you. You two are perfect for each other. She's as confused as you. She's as devoted to family as you. You always wanted a bitch who could hold her own against you." She pointed in the direction of my bedroom. "She's right in there, fast asleep in your bed because you're helping her through her deepest pain. Go be her savior and quit whining. I'll be close by if you need me. Though I think you can handle one harmless little girl, right?"

I wanted to punch her. She wouldn't be Leah though if she didn't leave with some snarky remark.

The point was I was left alone in my kitchen with too many thoughts on my mind. I worked on my dish mindlessly. Cooking was second nature to me. I could do it in my sleep. It relaxed me.

So I didn't hear her sneak up on me. Which was another first. I was usually more vigilant than this. But not with her. What was Bella doing to me?

"Where are you?" Her delicate, sleep filled voice made me jump.

Fuck! I almost cut myself. "What are you doing up?" I asked sternly. I didn't want her to know she just scared the crap out of me. She moved like a fucking ghost! I looked back at her for a second. She was beautiful as she stood there smiling while wiping the sleep from her eyes.

God, I was losing it. Leah was right. As always. Just watching Bella move closer to me, made realize I wanted what Leah and Edward had. I wanted someone to care about me. Someone to wake up beside me and be happy to see me lying there next to them. The mere thought of this revelation astounded me because I never wanted to wake up beside anyone before. I knew I was going too fast last night when I told Bella I was falling for her. I didn't care. I knew I lived a dangerous life and it could end in a second so why not fall in love? Why not go after what Leah and Edward, and Peter and Char have? Why should I be lonely? They made it look easy, but could Bella manage my lifestyle? Could she turn a blind eye to the shit I did? Would she leave her law abiding tendencies behind for scum like me? How would she see me as a person? Would she see the guy that wanted to work in finance instead of being an arms-dealing gangster? Would she laugh at my crisis of conscience and see it as me going soft?

Her little tank top and boy shorts were distracting me from coherent thought. All the blood was rushing south so I looked away and focused on the food. She was too sexy for her own damn good.

She wrapped her hands around my waist and the thought of that half naked body pressed up against my back almost made me weep. I wanted to forget the food and throw her down on the floor of my kitchen and have my way with her.

"Stop pretending," she chuckled against my back. She kissed the center of it and I shivered. "You and I both know you jumped when I asked where you were. I saw that shit."

"Shut up," I rolled my eyes at her and chuckled.

"Are you almost done? I'm starving and it smells really good."

"Not quite."

She stepped away and started mulling around my kitchen. People going through my drawers, opening my fridge made me anal but not with her. With Bella, I found that I liked it. Instantly, I wanted her to come over more often and I was already plotting on how to get her to do it.

She grabbed a strawberry out of the fridge and bite into it. "Alright, I'm heading back to bed, come see me with a couple of those fajitas when you're done." I got a smack on my ass and it made me smile.

Bella left the kitchen and I finished up the fajitas then made a couple of calls while planning how to get Bella to come over here tomorrow and the day after. And the day after that.

Tomorrow, I would have to deal with the Chekovs and I wasn't looking forward to it. Someone from the gang was flying in to meet with us. The deal still unnerved me. Especially with what I knew. And with it being set up by that asshole Aro made my stomach twist. Pop trusted the bastard too much.

I didn't want to do it, but Pop kept insisting. I didn't like the Chekovs. There was something off about them. I still had Emmett doing extensive search into their businesses. I would never admit this to a soul, but this deal made me nervous. From what Emmett had brought to my attention, the Chekovs were sadistic. The killings, the blood and gore, the way they got things done, they got off on it. I had been killing long enough to know. For them, power came through terrifying everyone into submission. There were ways to do this business and garner power, fear and respect without going to the measures the Chekovs have.

I got off the phone with Peter who got all philosophical and shit on me like Leah before telling me to have fun when I told him to handle things today and not to disturb me. I hung up on his laughing ass after he started humming the wedding march. Fun, yeah it would be fun if I got to fuck Bella today, but she was grieving, maybe she wouldn't into letting me jump her bones.

Goddamn it! I was turning into a pussy whipped bitch. Since when was I was considerate and shit?

I grabbed a couple of drinks and took them and the fajitas to my bedroom leaving my vagina in the kitchen.

"Hi," Bella said softly, smiling up at me from the stack of pillows. She looked like she belonged in my bed.

"Hey."

"Mmm…that smells incredible." She stretched like a cat. And fuck if I didn't want to forget about the food and take her. I know my cock was screaming for me to do it. "You're not bad."

"You haven't tasted it yet."

"Then bring it over here."

I wanted to bow down and worship her like the demanding queen she sounded like right now.

I needed to distract myself. If I didn't, things were going to happen. I placed the fajitas and drinks on the bedside table. When I glanced over at Bella, her creamy legs were tangled in my sheets. Her perk little ass was poking out of her little shorts. My cock hardened. I wanted to rip off those shorts off and smack that ass. I could still hear Bella moaning my name last night. I could still feel her wrapped around me. She was entirely too desirable for her own good.

"Are you cool?" she said, sitting up and eyeing me suspiciously. Should I tell her I want to fuck her and see what she would do? No. That would be too insensitive. Since when I cared about being sensitive? What was happening to me?

"Yeah, I'm cool. Why do you ask?"

She arched an eyebrow at me and smirked, "Because you're looking at me like I'm something to eat."

I laughed. "You always look good enough to eat, Bella. But I think we need some sustenance first."

"Says the guy who's staring at me like he wants to take my shorts off with his teeth."

I smiled at her and she returned it while getting up. "The food looks good, but I want to get cleaned up first."

I pointed her to the bathroom. I didn't bother to ask why she didn't do it while I was in the kitchen. I didn't ask because I wanted to join her in the shower.

When she left, I stayed away for as long as I could then my curiosity went and got the better of me so I went in there.

Bella was in the shower and just the sight of her naked body through the steam and glassed doors made my cock scream for mercy. He wanted to be inside of her and I was in full agreement. I wanted to be buried in her heat.

I wasn't even thinking when I stripped down and joined her in the shower.

"What are you doing?" Bella asked, giving me the once over and smirking when she saw the state I was in. But I wasn't about to admit it. "Need a little help?" The low growl in her voice made my cock twitch. "I'd take that as a yes."

"I don't know what you're talking about." I smirked. "I'm just in here because I need a shower and I wanted to conserve water."

"Right."

She rolled her eyes at me and laughed before turning back to the water jets.

I had to touch her. There was a starving need to. So I reached for her hair, running a hand through her hair. "It's so soft."

"Until it dries."

I couldn't believe I was having a conversation instead pounding into her right now. I ignored the thought and ran my hand through her hair again as I drew closer. I couldn't help it. There was this pull when it came to Bella. It was unlike anything I had ever felt before and I liked it.

"I could brush it for you," I whispered in her ear. She sighed and pushed back on me.

"I could help you too," she moaned when I pushed back at her, letting my cock slide between her ass cheeks.

"I'd love that," I groaned in her ear, nibbling on the shell of it until something occurred to me and I pulled back and stepped away from her.

Bella turned to me; her hard, rosy nipples teasing me. "What is it?"

I couldn't believe I was about to say this. "You had a bad night. I don't want to pressure you into this."

She smiled and shook her head at me. What was that about? Did she think I was being soft?

"Thank you, but I'm okay," she said, stepping closer. She wrapped her arms around my neck and pulled me down to her lips. We kissed for a while then she moved away. "I guess we'll pick this up after we eat?" I nodded and she winked. "I'll leave you to shower and handle…" she gripped my length and stroked me a couple of times. "this."

She laughed, leaving me in there to handle my hard dick. And I did just that and came…hard. I could hardly stand. When I washed my body and got out of the shower, I nearly fell over.

Bella was smiling at me when I stepped into the bedroom.

"What is it?" Did I have something on my face? I pray it wasn't what I think.

She kept the goofy grin on her face as she said, "Thanks for grabbing something from my place." She looked from my eyes and down at her jeans and black mesh looking tank top she was wearing. I didn't know what Peter grabbed. I was too busying worrying about Bella while barking orders at him.

This was another first for me. Worrying about how a woman felt.

"It was the fastest thing Peter could grab when I screamed at him." I shrugged.

"You screamed at him for me?" It surprised her. Peter's words were ringing in my head. Bella wasn't used to someone caring about her.

"Yeah," I smiled. "You needed help."

She ducked her head shyly and her neck lit up with a blush. I loved it. It looked good on her pale, creamy skin. It was downright adorable. "Thanks."

I went over to her and took her face in my hands, making her meet my eyes. Her eyes were beautiful as they glimmered with something; something kind. Something that scared her. I could feel it. "I want you." I told her. I couldn't believe I was admitting it. "I don't want to let you go," I said. "I don't know if you get what I'm saying. Fuck, I don't get what I'm saying, but I know I want you, Bella."

She laughed. And her eyes continued to shimmer with the thing I couldn't place. Was it happiness? Love? Admiration? I couldn't tell. I was used to people looking at me with fear or lust in their eyes. I didn't know anything outside of those. I understood friendship and love for my family. But women? I didn't get them. I thought I didn't need to. I just felt horny, fucked one or two or three of them, bust a nut and that was it. No feelings involved on my part. And I didn't care enough to want to know if any of the women I had fucked in the past cared about me. I chose to believe they used me for sex and status. Just like how I used their bodies to relieve my stress.

"I get what you're saying and it scares me…a lot!" Her laugh was a sweet one. I liked it. I loved a lot of mushy shit right now. She wasn't aware of my turmoil. Or was she?

Bella stepped away from me, shaking her head.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

She turned back to me. Staring at me in disbelief. Her moods switched so fast. Where was the happy girl from a minute ago? I liked her. This one looked ready to kick my ass. There was fury and confusion etched on her face as she asked, "What are you doing to me?"

"I don't know," I answered honestly as I grabbed clothes and threw them on in front of her. My nudity wasn't affecting her as much as I would have liked. She was too confused to notice.

"Jasper, I don't feel like this about guys."

"What do you feel for me?" God I wanted to know what she felt for me. I felt like some chick out of a novel waiting on the guy she loves to tell her he loves her too. I wanted the happy answer.

"I don't know!" She turned away from me and I smirked at her back. She was lying. She knew what she feeling. She was scared. I could deal with that. It wasn't rejection. It was indecision. I was rejoicing internally. I wasn't in this shit alone. Whatever was happening between us, Bella wanted it as much as I did.

She was quiet for a moment and I gave her the time she needed to think. I was breaking a lot of my own rules for this broad. I wasn't a patient man. Yet, here I was, waiting on her to sort out her feelings. I could tell what she was feeling because I felt it too. The anger, confusion, and need to be close to her. I felt it last night. Which was why I was worried sick when she didn't answer my text. And when I called and she sounded so broken, it made me want to scream. I had to help her.

Bella made me feel like I was going crazy and I liked it. With her around, I welcomed the madness.

When she finally spoke, her anger had dissipated, and only her confusion remained. "Jasper…" She turned to me. I saw a vulnerable girl with big, brown, expressive eyes.

"Yeah, baby?" Tell me what you're thinking. Tell me you want me too. I shouldn't have you. I knew why it was wrong, but I refused to let you go. I already cared too much.

"I…"

"Say it."

She looked uncertain but continued anyways. "I never thought about guys the way I think about you. I get horny. I fuck. I move on. I don't get attached. I don't fall in love. I don't think about the future or see myself in some fucking white gown going some damn aisle. I don't think about kids. I like 'em but I've told myself long ago that I've got nothing to offer them."

Bella was struggling. We were both feeling things we weren't familiar with. Yeah, I wanted what my friends had, but I didn't know how to navigate these feelings. "But now?"

"Now, I'm thinking about all that shit and it scares the shit out of me. You freak me the fuck out, Jasper," Bella said with a shaky laugh.

"You scare me too," I admitted with a nervous chuckle. I ran a hand through my hair. "I don't…I don't take girls here. They don't spend the night. I don't wake up thinking about them. Bella, you know about me. You know who I am."

"No." What did she mean by that? Of course, she knew who I was.

"I know what you are," she corrected me. "I know what you do but I don't know _who_ you are. I don't know Jasper. I know the gangster. I know my boss. But the guy I slept with last night, I don't know him. I want to and it's terrifying."

I chuckled. "It is terrifying. Maybe we should do something about it."

She smiled and came closer. I stood stock still watching on bated breath as she reached up and touched my hair. She gently ran a hand through it. Admiring it before she said, "It's so soft."

"Thanks." I smiled at her.

She shook her head and stepped away, going over to the table. She picked up the plate of fajitas then climbed into my bed and patted a spot next to her. "Let's eat something and get to know one another."

We sat on my bed, determined to get to know each other. "I dreamt about you before I met you," I told her while biting into one of the fajitas. She looked shocked but covered it quickly with teasing me.

Bella laughed. "What kind of dream was it? Was it a sex dream?" She waggled her eyebrows and then winked at me, making me laugh. I was laughing but my cock wanted to take her seriously. That part of me wanted me to tackle her and we wouldn't stop until she screamed my name. "No, it wasn't a sex dream. It was a dream about my momma. She wanted to tell me some things."

"Like what?" Bella asked as she took a sip of her drink.

I smiled at her and didn't answer for a bit. She wasn't fazed by my silence though. She waited until I was ready to talk. I was actually asking myself why I was doing this. Why was I willing to tell her this?

"Momma said I would meet a great girl who wouldn't take my shit,"

"Oh really?" She winked. "Is she hot?"

My eyes raked over her body. I groaned when I saw her biting her bottom lip. "Stop that shit."

"What?"

"Biting that lip."

"Or else what?"

"I'll bite it for you."

She smiled and cleared her throat. "We're going off course. If we start thinking about sex, we'll never get anywhere. What else happened in this dream?"

"I saw two little girls. I didn't recognize them, but Momma seemed to know them. It was strange."

Bella knitted her eyebrows in contemplation. "Sounds strange."

"So what happened after that?"

"My dream came true."

"How so?"

"You walked into my life."

It was Bella's turn to be silent. There was a small smile though when I had commented on her walking into my life. I liked that. I could make her smile at something I said. Something sweet. I didn't even know I could be sweet.

We finished eating, got up and went to the kitchen together. While I washed the dishes, Bella spoke up, "Her name was Tanya, right?" she asked solemnly.

"Yeah," I said softly.

"I'm sorry about her."

Someone must've told Bella about my mother's death. Then again it was on the fucking news. The damn press always had a pick for Pops. They were always in our fucking business. So who knows how Bella found out? I didn't ask how she found out because I didn't want to talk about it today. It was bad enough I still hated that fucking cancer took my mother from me. I hadn't gotten over it. I doubt I ever would. Sometimes, I hated her for leaving us behind. She was my best friend.

Bella didn't question me any further. She just dried the dishes and I asked where to put them. I pointed her to correct cupboards. "Those were some good fajitas."

"Thanks," I said with a smile. Internally, I was thankful for the subject change. I didn't like to talk about Momma not being here. It always put me in a sour mood. And everyone knew what happened when I was like that. Everyone except Bella. There was a lot to teach her if I wanted her in my life. Did I? I looked at her tight ass as she bent down to put away the frying pan. Hell fucking yes I wanted her in my life.

"Stop staring at my ass."

I chuckled and walked over to her, pressing my crotch against her. She pushed back and I groaned. My dick couldn't stand her teasing. "Don't fuck with me, girl. I'll fuck you right here."

Bella grounded her ass against me. "What makes you think I would object?"

I stepped away, going to opposite end of the kitchen. "We want to get to know each other. We won't get do that if all we're doing is fucking. It'll never be about anything else if we continue."

Bella straightened up and cocked an eyebrow at me with a smile. "You're right."

We retired to my living room. We sat on the floor with my gun on the center table and the television playing in the background. We'd been talking about our childhood and Bella's fake story was damn convincing. If I didn't know the truth, I would've believed this lie. She really sold it.

When we got to me, and I had to talk about my mom, it got difficult. Bella could see me struggling and threw me a lifeline by changing the subject. "Since those fajitas were unexpectedly good, I've got to know who taught you."

She was still in a dangerous territory, but she didn't know so I shared enough. "Momma, maids, and I picked up some things here and there," I said vaguely, but it was enough for Bella.

"Well, I'm glad you picked it up. You're fucking good." She smiled. "I haven't gotten a chance to cook myself a nice home cooked meal since I got to town. I can't find the time."

"You've had time off."

She was quick to cover and I smiled internally. I was sure she was checking in with her handler. Alice Brandon, the friend who owned the rundown house. Edward would find more about Brandon for me. I only knew about her being James' woman. "Yeah! But I gotta be in the right state of mind to do it. I want to make something really good."

Her lies were good. It was easy to fall for them. I knew she could cook. Really good too. That part was true. James was the bad chef. Bella and Rosalie were good in the kitchen.

"Yeah," I said, eyeing her while wondering if I told her the truth now what would she do? It was something I was considering. Should I tell Bella the truth before we got too deep?

I wasn't sure.

I know Leah would say yes and she was the only one I could talk to about it. James was dead and if he weren't he would have shot my balls off if he knew I had developed feelings for his baby sister.

We continued to talk. Leah interrupted much to my chagrin, to tell me Bella and I we wouldn't be interrupted for the day. I knew this. She just wanted to check on us. She smiled a sly smile as she turned and left. She wasn't far. Leah never left my side unless I ordered her to.

Bella was so beautiful. She glowed while we talked about our likes and dislikes. We chatted about art, music and argued about movies. She enjoyed the same genres I did, and even watched some porn. I wanted to fucking marry this girl and put her in a big house with a bunch of our kids running around. I wasn't afraid to think that shit when Bella told me she got off on porn sometimes. She was my dream.

I loved the Goth thing she had going. Her black hair was sleeked back and I got to see those pretty eyes more, but I wondered…

"What does your hair really look like?" Though I knew. It was luscious brown, thick and wavy, and flowed down her damn shoulders to the small of her back.

She touched her head and laughed. "I'm a brunette, but on a sunny day, it looks a little reddish. It was really long. Right down to the small of my back. What about you? Are you a natural brunette?"

"No. I'm blond. It looks like Michael's hair."

"Why is it like this then?" She leaned over and ran a hand through it, ruffling it and I pinched her breast. She yanked her hand back and laughed.

I wanted to lie. My first instinct was to lie. But when I looked into her eyes, I couldn't. I didn't want to. "It has a lot to do with my mom."

"How so?" she said softly, rubbing my knee. I stopped her and laced our fingers while her eyes implored me to say more. I shouldn't. It would set me off, but I couldn't resist this girl. "I was so lost. After her death, I hate everything. I hated her for leaving. I hated being without her. She was my best friend. I could talk to her a lot easier than I could talk to my Pop." I couldn't believe I just admitted that to Bella. I rarely talked about me and my dad and our tense relationship. Mom was the glue. After she died, me and the old man, well, we've been butting heads ever since. "I hated being left behind with Pops. I didn't want this life, Bella." Another truth and secret. I never wanted to be this way. I didn't want to be the gangster everyone feared. It was just inevitable. "It was inevitable. Family legacy." I chuckled darkly.

"You hate it?"

"What's not to like?" I sneered at her. "I've got money, power, all the bitches I want to fuck, and people fear me. There's also the blood I've shed and the men I've killed to prove my worth. So what's not to like?"

Bella looked unfazed by my anger. It was as if she understood exactly how I felt. She looked relieved in a sense.

"Everything," she said softly. "You lost yourself, Jasper. Yes it was inevitable, but it doesn't mean you didn't want to do something else with your life. Why shouldn't you? It's your life." She sounded like she was talking about herself too.

"It's too late now."

"I know," she said with a hint of sadness in her eyes. It was a shared truth for us. We were in too deep. Our lives would never be our own. "I bet your mom didn't want the life for you. Even if she understood. She didn't want this for you, did she?"

She was right. My mother was adamantly against me joining the family's dynasty. She thought a life outside of it was best for me. She wanted her boys to have a chance at innocence. A chance our dad didn't get. He didn't understand. I remember the many fights. The shouting and smashing of glass being thrown across the room in angry when Momma realized Pops was grooming me for the business. I was only thirteen at the time. He said he saw potential in me. It was best to start early.

I told Bella all of this. It made me feel like shit but it also felt good to get it out there. Talk to someone.

"Aside from your mother's rebellion, it was impossible to stop your dad, huh?" Bella said. Again, she understood what I went through. James had said Charlie had been grooming them from they were kids. Bella was the best. She could fight, survive and eliminate any opponent. It worried James. He thought she only knew how to be a soldier and nothing else and he felt like he should be partly blamed for that. He admitted this to me but I picked it up from the few talks we had. He wanted another life for his sisters.

"Yeah, it was impossible to stop Pop," I said, kissing her and getting up from the floor. I reached for my gun but Bella grabbed it up and got up too. She examined the weapon with a glint in her eye.

"You found the violence thrilling, didn't you?" she said, eyeing the weapon in her hand. She twirled the nine millimeter and then pointed it at me. I looked her dead in the eye. I wasn't afraid to die. That shit would catch up with me eventually. Bella's hand was steady as any killer, as steady as mine while she aimed right between my eyes with a glint in her. "You're a different man when your monster takes over, aren't you?" she said softly. The tone of her deadly voice washed over me. Exciting me.

I didn't answer. I turned to her fully. I took a step forward and she stepped back. I took a giant step and she jumped back with a giggle. I was serious. I grabbed her and the gun, taking it from her. I clicked the safety off and placed it against her head. "Don't touch the gun." I felt my monster take over as I walked her back to the opposing wall, slamming her into her. The little gasp she let out brought me back. I pulled the gun away and clicked the safety back on. I stared coldly at her and even beneath the haze of anger I felt, she was still beautiful to me.

She was brave. She puffed out her chest and stared at me just coldly as she said, "I'll do what I want!" She hissed in my face. "You want to be with me, you better learn that shit mighty quickly, Whitlock." She pushed me away and I let her. I smirked as she walked around me. I liked the challenge. I grabbed and pulled her back into my grasp, crushing my lips to hers, devouring her mouth until we both needed to breathe. When we parted, Bella was breathing heavily and I wanted to take her against the wall. "I'm hungry."

I walked away without another word.

Despite the tension, both sexual and the anger coursing through us because we'd revealed our dark sides to one another, our conversation flowed until the anger dissolved. Bella and I talked while we prepared an early dinner. She was in the cooking mood while she asked about my life in Brooklyn and my relationship with Michael. There was a longing in her eyes while I talked about Michael, boasting about his accomplishments. It was wrong. She missed James. I didn't want to hurt her feelings but she was the one who asked. Bella was asking why I kept up the short, brunette hairstyle if I was a natural blonde like Michael. "How tall was your hair?"

I'd just put the chicken in the oven to roast while she worked on the potatoes when Bella asked why I kept my hair brunette even after my mom passed, why haven't I stopped. I told her I haven't felt the need to.

"So was it tall?" I smiled. I knew she had to have seen old photos of me. But she never gave anything away.

"Yeah, it was curly, blond and stopped at the base of my neck."

"Why?"

"I got teased a lot about it."

"Fuck 'em. I think it would've looked hot."

"Yeah, well, it's gonna stay like this now."

Bella put the potatoes in the boiling water. The idea of roast chicken, mashed potatoes and greens sounded good. I had white wine I'd pulled from the rack chilling. It would go well with the meal she was preparing. It was great to watch her prance around my kitchen. She belonged here. I wanted her to move in. I was moving too fast.

I didn't catch what she said. "What did you say?"

"Aside from the assholes who…"

"Just one asshole. Aro. No one else dared to tease me without the fear of me beating their faces in."

She nodded in understanding then scrunched her nose. It was funny. "You mean the creepy guy with the drugged out girlfriend?" She knew who they were just not what they had taken from her. What would she do if I told her and gave her the opportunity to fuck with Aro and Jane. Could she take them out? I wasn't looking for to do my dirty work for me, I just wondered what Bella could really do. I wanted to see her in action.

"Yeah."

"You've known him a long time then?" She was fishing for information. I liked it. My Bella was inquisitive. It was a massive turn on.

"All my life unfortunately." I wasn't going to say about it.

"Whatever with him," she concluded. "We'll talk about him another time." She was very confident too. God, this woman! She was my torture! "But I also think you cut your hair and dyed it brown because your shaggy blonde hair reminded you too much of your mother. Am I right?"

She was the first person I didn't want to beat into the ground for saying that. My dad tried to send me to therapy after Mom's death when he made the same assumption. The therapist came to the same conclusion, and I threatened his life, much to Dad's chagrin.

I chuckled and went over to the fridge and grabbed a beer. I popped it open and took a swig. "Yeah, it did. Too fucking much so I got drunk, it wasn't too long after she died, maybe a week or so after the funeral, and I chopped it off and then passed out. I woke up to Peter and his wife, the chick you saw, Charlotte, helping me. Char, as I like to call her, gave me this look and I stuck with it."

She looked contemplative. "Hmm."

"What?"

"I'd really love to see you with the blond hair. I bet you're hot."

"Are you saying I'm not hot now?"

"Kinda," she shrugged with a devilish grin.

I walked over to her side of the kitchen and backed her into the counter. She laughed when I lifted her up and placed her on top of it. I leaned forward and took her sexy lips between mine for a deep, sensual kiss that left us both wanting. When I pulled away, Bella was flustered and panting just like I wanted.

I stepped away and she looked like she wanted to scream at me. "Are you sure you don't find me hot?"

"Huh?"

I leaned against the opposite counter with a shit eating grin on my face and waited until Bella came to the realization, which didn't take too long. She snapped out of the haze I'd put her under with a huff and jumped down from the counter with a pout. She went to check on the potatoes while pretending to ignore me. "That wasn't fair. You can't make me all hot and bothered and then back off at the last minute." She cut her eyes at me and I laughed.

"Oh hell yes, I can."

"Fuck you, Jasper." She turned from me and I crept up behind. I jammed my crotch right against her ass and grounded against her. She moaned. I loved her sexual appetite. She was as horny as me. She pushed back against me and my cock was begging me to fuck her on the floor.

Not yet.

I nibbled on the shell of her ear as I pulled her away from the stove and over to the sink. She braced her hands against it while I grinded against her jeans clad ass and sucked on her neck. Carefully, I whispered amidst her soft moans. "You already fucked me, sweetie. But I intend to fuck you…again and again." I stepped away…again leaving her flustered.

She growled and tossed a spoon at me as I ran out of the kitchen.

 **~~dkol~~**

I had never had a day like this with a girl…ever. Bella and I had stayed in all day. We had just had dinner and it was incredible. The girl put her foot in it. She was good. We were currently on the floor again, watching a horror movie. Bella's commentary was funny. She'd scream at the supposed survivor or survivors then she'd curse them when they got killed.

That movie ended and we put in another. A romance I didn't even know I had. But we didn't watch it. We talked, messed around, made out, and dry humped until it was too much. The tension had been building all day. And when Bella sank her pussy onto my weeping cock, I nearly cried in victory. She rode me hard and then teasingly until I slapped her ass, making her laugh, and told her to go faster. We fucked, starving off our orgasms as long as we could, and when we came, the world exploded around us. We shouted our release, not caring who heard.

I dropped my head back to the floor and Bella collapsed on top of me.

"That was…" she stated breathlessly.

"Yeah," I huffed out, just as breathless as she was.

We stayed on the floor, naked and wrapped up in each other, kissing and groping until we had sex again and again before retiring to my bedroom where I made her scream for me.

The day had long faded into night and I didn't want tomorrow to come. It would bring reality and I really fucking hated reality right now. It meant everything was going according to plan and my inevitable end was fast approaching. I wanted more time. I wanted this dream. I wanted to stay here forever, wrapped up in Bella's arms with my head on her chest and leg entwined with hers.

"I don't want tomorrow to come." She whispered.

"Me neither."


	11. In Too Deep

_**Bella Swan a.k.a Bella Dwyer**_

I had been watching him since this morning. He had a commanding way to him, but he knew exactly how to get what he wanted out of you without you even realizing it until it was too late. Jasper was a very dangerous man. You could see in his friends or staff as I liked to think about them. Char, she loved him like family, but she feared him too. Peter, his supposed best friend…the same thing. They all loved and feared Jasper.

Should I heed their underlining warning? Was this someone to fuck with? I wasn't scared. I had met some terrible motherfuckers in this line of work. Some pieces of shits. Scum that shouldn't be walking the earth, and thanks to me, some were dead and most would never taste freedom again.

What about Jasper Whitlock? I knew what I had to do. What I was here to do. It was evident. The blind could see it. I had to kill him. There was no other way. Especially with how deep things were getting.

"Where did you go?" he asked, his arm hanging lazily around my waist as we rode his private elevator down to the parking garage.

"I guess I'm just bummed we got to go back to the real world." It wasn't a lie but it wasn't the complete truth. What bothered me the most was how much I was dreading being apart from him. I was on dangerous grounds. This shit was getting too intense too quick. Feelings were poison. Feelings got you killed quickly.

"I know what you mean," he said, and it sounded like he truly understood what I was feeling. As if he was feeling it too.

We got off the elevator and head over to the car. "You sure you want to go back there?" Jasper asked. "I don't like that house. It looks like it's about fall in your head."

"Don't worry about it. I'm good." I liked that he was concerned but I wouldn't accept anything. I had to maintain that stance. Alice would blow a roof if she knew I refused any kind of offer from Jasper. But I needed the separation from him. It helped me see clearly.

He moved from beside me to behind me. His arms were on my hips while he walked in step with me. It felt good. Aside from the danger he represented, the possibility of him torturing and killing me when he found out the truth about me, my body still betrayed me. Jasper's arms held nothing but security when he held me.

I should be repulsed. This was my brother's killer. But when he leaned in and kissed my neck, my body shivered.

"Yeah. I gotta…I've got work, remember?"

He pulled me close and continued nipping and kissing my neck. I let out a sigh and closed my eyes, tilting my head back on his shoulder. My body tingled and I wished he'd take me back upstairs.

Our stories were almost similar. We both had overbearing fathers who we butt heads with but still loved and respected. Jasper respected his father. He looked up to him. He would never admit it but he did. I was the same with my dad. I loved Charlie, but sometimes we butt heads, Rosie said we were too much alike and we were both too proud to admit it.

Other similarities between Jasper and I was our love for family. He loved Michael the way I loved Rosie and his mother was his heart, the way, Jamie was mine. We both craved love, acceptance and happiness. And we both knew we wouldn't live long enough to have it.

A part of me I wished we could tell each other our deepest secrets. The truth about ourselves. I longed for him to know the real Bella. The tomboy, the loving little sister, and the daughter of a hard ass.

I wanted to learn more about him. About his family. Not what was in a file. Not the wrongs he has done. The person he was. I wanted to know that guy. I spent the day with him yesterday and I really liked him. He was sweet but hated showing it because he thought it made him look weak. He had a sense of humor and his jokes were corny and juvenile just the way I liked them. He was a good lover. It wasn't all about him. He had a beating heart in that well sculpted chest of his and it wasn't always cold. I proved this yesterday.

"You've gone off again."

"You're too inquisitive!" I smacked his arm and tried to wrestle out of his grasp. He laughed, it was deep and rich and vibrated through me, while he held me tight.

"You're too much fun!"

"Let go!" I tried to sound serious but I could hear the laughter in my own voice. It sounded so foreign to my ears.

"I'm sure your asshole of a boss will understand if your boyfriend wants you to stay at his place today. Preferably naked," he said, moving away with a smirk on his face. That smirk of his was a deal breaker. The fucker knew he could get anything when he flashed it.

I wanted to smack him. I wanted to kiss him. I was so fucked.

"I'm not going to tell my boss you want me to stay at your place, preferably naked," I replied with a smile, even if the thought of naked Jasper was very appealing.

Wait. Did he just say boyfriend?

"And what do you mean, "my boyfriend"?"

A barge of emotion passed over Jasper's face in a minute flat. I spotted happiness and disappointment and determination before he took a deep breath and said, "What else am I to you?" There was vulnerability in his voice and it made my heart ache.

"I told you, I don't date."

He didn't answer right away. Just stared at me. I held his stare for a while then looked away. I had to turn around and closed my eyes. The intensity in his gaze was too much right now. He wrapped me in his arms again and my body relaxed. I couldn't let Jasper break me. No one had done it before and I would be damned if he was the one to do it. I didn't care what I was feeling. I had to find my footing. This was just confusion. Nothing more. I would not drop my guard. I had failed enough already with him. I had let him in. I wanted to kick my own ass.

The problem was Jasper was enigmatic. He looked like an open book, but he was anything but. There were so many layers to him. And I wanted to learn every one of them. I shouldn't want to, but I did. And it wasn't on the basis of my assignment. It was just because I wanted to know him. What made him tick? What made him smile?

I was also convinced he could read my emotions or some shit because every time I looked into his eyes, I felt like I was being sucked into the depth of those deep blue eyes and they were penetrating my soul.

He kissed the shell of my ear while he rocked us to some imaginary music. "Didn't I tell you to forget about that shit?" Leah and Michael were walking toward us. They passed us, both of them with smirks on their fucking faces, and I wanted to punch them but Jasper was distracting me. They got into the vehicle we would be travelling in. Jasper didn't care. He didn't see anything but me. I liked it. He whispered in my ear, "Bella, I'm not going to let you go. I want this. I want you. I want us."

His words were powerful. They were filled with such conviction, I swore my heart stuttered.

God knows I wanted him too. It was wrong to, but I did.

I have never wanted anyone the way I wanted him.

I thought about Jamie and I wondered how I would do it. I would. When it came down to the wire, I would kill Jasper. I had to.

It was funny. James and I had argued about something close to this once. It was at the beginning of his and Alice's relationship. I was being the protective sister. I didn't trust her because no one was good enough for my big brother. Jamie had said he felt the same way about me and Rosie. No man would ever be good enough for us.

In a perfect world, if he was still here and Jasper wasn't a cold-blooded gangster, would he have liked him?

I wonder.

I shook away the thought.

"Are you cold?" Jasper whispered, kissing my neck.

"A little." I lied.

Leah pulled the black SUV up. Michael was in the passenger seat. Jasper moved away to open the back door for me. I smiled and let him help me inside. He got in and slammed the door and we were off.

I kept my eyes on the buildings as we drove by them. I was deep in thought and appreciated Jasper's patience. He kept his hand in mine on the seat between us, but made no move to disrupt my peace with idle chatter. We both had a busy day ahead of us. While I worked downstairs, Jasper would be entertaining a member of the Chekov gang. Whoever it was had flown in to visit Jasper. Jasper didn't like it for some reason, I could sense his discomfort.

I tried to shake away my concern. I shouldn't be concerned at all.

But I was.

Michael and Leah were talking while she drove. They were a family. Like me, Jamie and Rosie. I allowed myself to smile a little, because their conversation brought me comfort. It reminded me of the old days. Jamie, Rosie and me would argue about the smallest things, only to laugh about it later.

Jamie. I went back to thinking about him and a particular argument I had with him. I wasn't too comfortable after he had gotten together with Alice. I was used him just fucking around. But with Alice, things were becoming permanent. And for some reason, I didn't like it. I didn't think Jamie would care less about me or his family. I was just afraid she would break his heart. I was the fixer in the family. The glue. What the fuck would I do with heartbreak? I didn't know how to fix that. So I decided to be a cynic. Maybe if I spoke negatively about love and all the bullshit that came along with it, Jamie would be more careful with his heart and I wouldn't have to worry so much.

 _I thought I was getting my point across, but Jamie just laughed it off. He was so happy these days. Always in a good mood. Right now the smile he wore, as he helped me prepare dinner, was radiant and infectious._

" _Come on, Honey Bee, you can't be against love," James chuckled. I rolled my eyes. Did I have to explain? I didn't want to. I just wanted him to be careful._

" _Shouldn't you be focused on setting the table?"_

 _He laughed as he peered over my shoulder at the chicken. "That looks good."_

" _And it's edible because you didn't cook it."_

" _You wound me." He laughed._

 _It was just us. Rosie and Dad were away on assignment. We missed them but Jamie was good company._

 _Until he said Alice would be joining us for dinner tomorrow night._

 _Apparently she was that serious to Jamie. He wanted to include her into family things. Great._

" _You didn't answer me, you know," he said. "You've got that faraway look on your face. What's got you thinking so hard? Met a guy? What's his name and social security number?"_

 _I gave him the stink eye. He was trying and failing miserably not to crack up._

" _I haven't met anyone. And even if I did, I wouldn't tell you until the wedding."_

" _Oh, I would find out."_

 _And he would. Jamie was as good a spy as Dad._

" _Whatever."_

" _You still haven't answered. Why are you against love?"_

 _I kept my back to him. Jamie was too good at reading me. He said my emotions were written on my face._

" _I'm not against it," I argued as I sliced the roast chicken. It was our favorite. Roast chicken with mashed potatoes and greens and a cola. Not to mention the chocolate cake for dessert with a glass of milk._

" _You sound like it." His tone was serious. He was contemplating something while his eyes burned into the back of my head._

 _I steeled myself and turned to look him in the eye. "I'm just saying thinking about one person all the time is a little unhealthy to me. I can't see myself doing anything like that." I shuddered and turned back to the chicken. I picked up the serving dish and took it to the table._

 _Jamie followed and he sounded a little pissed as he said, "Are you saying me and Alice aren't healthy?"_

 _I snapped, "James…I'm talking about me!" turning around to face him._

 _He was silent. He had me. His eyes were piercing mine. "No."_

" _No?" I chuckled nervously. This would either be a good dinner or the argument of the century. Jamie never let me live things down. He was an annoying fuck like that._

" _You're talking about Alice and me. You think I'm jumping in too soon. You think I'm not being careful, but Honey Bee, we've got one life, one chance. I know some people believe in reincarnation and all that shit, but I believe in one chance. We lead a very dangerous life. You, me, Rosie and Dad could die at anytime. Do you really want to say I never loved? I never lived? Alice…she makes me see things differently. She makes me see it's not just about the next lay. It can be about calling that special someone, taking them out on dates and shit, smiling instead of beating the crap out of someone, sleeping beside them without fucking them. Bella, it's amazing what I feel and the depth I feel it. I want to hold on to it. If Alice breaks my heart, so be it. I'll be pissed. I'll probably enlist your help in stalking her until I get over her, but I want to try."_

 _His explanation floored me. I had no idea someone could feel so much. And this was my brother! Playboy extraordinaire James Swan._

 _I had no words._

 _Jamie stepped closer. He moved carefully as if not to spook me like I was some wild animal._

 _I guess I was._

" _Honey Bee, I didn't say all that shit to make you feel bad about being single. I think, and I hate to admit this, the perfect guy is out there waiting for you."_

 _I chuckled darkly. "You see, that's where we disagreed. I'll never have what you have, Jamie. I'm not meant for that kind of life. I'm nothing but the job. I can be a great sister. If you or Rosie have kids, I'll be a good aunt and kick-ass godmother, but a girlfriend, or wife and a mother, no. That shit is for girls like Alice. She's a multi-tasker and shit. I can't think about a million things at one time. I'm the job, that's it."_

" _Honey bee…" Jamie said, drawing closer. He was going to hug me and I would break down._

" _No, James!" I said angrily. I only used his true name when I was pissed or determined. "Don't try to convince me otherwise. I'm happy for you being in the love bubble. But there are no bubbles in my future. Just the job and taking scum off the streets."_

" _Honey bee…" He tried again sadly. "You're more." A lonely tear slid down my face. "Remember why Rosie and I call you Honey Bee?"_

 _More tears slid down my cheeks. I roughly wiped them away. "Because you said I was the Queen of the hive and the sweetest girl in the whole wide world."_

" _And then we vowed to be there for you forever," he concluded. He took me in his arms then and I lost it. I cried on my brother's shoulder while he whispered comforting words to me. He wanted to know how much my family loved me. How they thought I was the bravest person they know. How they trusted me with their lives._

 _I heard his words, but I couldn't shake the deep seated feeling of rejection. James sensed it._

 _He pulled away, holding me by the shoulders as he looked sharply into my eyes and spoke with finality. "Bella, don't let Renee make you think any less of yourself."_

 _I had made the mistake of finding my mother and trying to reach out to her a couple of months ago. She was living a happy life with her younger husband, Phil. He wasn't the guy she left with. I knew because I asked her if he was. She laughed me off and said no. Then she tried to not so subtly tell me she was happy with her boy toy of a husband and didn't wish to open any lines of communication with the family she ran away from. Looking at her, I wondered if she ever stopped to think about the people she had betrayed to get to her cushy life. She was living in Palm Beach, Florida._

 _I knew more than Renee thought. I had finally learned the truth. It had floored me but I swore I would never tell my brother and sister. I wasn't going to fuck up their lives. I wondered if Dad knew, then I forgot the dumb thought. Of course he did. It was why he was so insistent about us not looking for our deserting mother. It burned me to the soul. He knew who she really was. All this time._

 _They had betrayed us._

 _I remembered getting off the plane and calling Jamie from Sea Tac. I couldn't move another inch. I was dumbfounded, sad, disappointed. I was the four year old girl crying after a mother who didn't want her all over again._

 _Jamie was so pissed that night. He called a family meeting. Dad had to join us by phone. He was in China. Rosie wanted to head down to Palm Beach and give Renee a piece of her mind. Dad was begging her to let it go. Rosie wanted to kick his ass for begging her not to hand Renee's ass to her. Jamie was pissed at Rosie and Dad for turning the conversation to them. They apologized. Then he was mad at me for going to see Renee in the first place. Then he was mad he wasn't there. Not to kick her ass like Rosie, but to be there for me when she let me down. He explained he had found her before us. He reached out and they met in New York before he returned from an assignment and he and our mother talked. I was shocked. I was afraid. Had he learned the truth too? He said he had interrogated her about leaving us all and he concluded from how vain she spoke, Renee was only concerned about herself._

 _When he said what he had learned from her, things like she wasn't happy things weren't going her way, and it wasn't that she was trapped in a loveless marriage or pressured into having us, though she wasn't too happy about having another kid after Jamie and Rosie, she wasn't running from an abusive life._

 _Another truth. My mother didn't really want me._

 _Renee left because she was bored and couldn't cut it in a small town. Dad was appealing for a while. That was it. Jamie, Rosie and I were just results of heated nights to her and our existence seemed to make Charlie happy._

 _I was broken all over again after he told us. Jamie held it together. He apologized for telling me about her feelings toward me. I shrugged. I guess a part of me always knew. I was just hoping I was wrong. But I was sighing in relief too. They didn't know the whole truth. They didn't know who Renee was. At least Rosie and Jamie didn't._

 _Rosie was so sad she couldn't talk. Dad was the one who spoke. He told us that was why he didn't want to look for her. I almost snorted. Yeah, that was only reason._

 _My brother and sister comforted me that night._

" _I'm not letting Renee do anything!" I snapped at Jamie._

" _Yes you are."_

 _I laughed at him. I actually laughed. But Jamie wasn't through. "Bella, your views on life and love started with our mother rejecting you."_

" _She left us."_

" _But you saw. Do you know what that does to a kid?"_

" _So I'm broken?" I wanted to be mad at him. He had no right to say it much less think it. I couldn't let him know he was right. "I think people are fucked in the head when they're in a love bubble and I'm broken?"_

 _Jamie smiled. "You're broken because our mother's rejection made you feel like everyone leaves."_

" _Everyone does leave, Jamie. It's only a matter of time."_

" _I won't leave."_

" _You could die," I countered. "Then what?"_

" _Did you hear me, Honey Bee, I'll never leave you."_

" _Renee left." I was the four year girl her mother left standing on a sidewalk again._

" _I'll never leave you, Honey Bee."_

 _He pulled me into a hug, letting me cry on his shoulder. When I stopped, we had dinner, talked and laughed. The next night, I was warm and inviting to Alice. I smiled when she spoke and told a couple lame jokes. She laughed, not because she had to, but because she truly found them funny._

 _Jamie just sat and watched us with a contented smile on his face._

"Everyone leaves." I whispered to myself.

"What are you thinking about?" Jasper's voice brought me back.

"All kinds of things," I turned to him and said. "I mostly hate that it's daytime and we're back to reality." That wasn't a lie.

"Yeah, reality sucks ass," Michael chimed from the front seat. I smiled when Jasper reached out and smacked him over the head. He eased back beside me with a wink and a smile.

Michael let a slew of curse words. "Jesus, Jasper! That shit hurts!" He rubbed the back of his head as he turned and gave his brother the stink eye.

"Eyes front," Jasper said sternly and Michael obeyed with a pout. I found myself giggling while Jasper scolded Michael. "Now shut the fuck up and mind your business before I put my foot up your ass!" Jasper yelled at him.

I laughed then. There were so many similarities between them. They were so much like me and Jamie.

I wanted to cry and felt a tear slip from my eye. I swiftly moved to wipe it away but Jasper beat me to it. I stared into his eyes as he slid his thumb up my cheek, catching the escaped tear. We said nothing. I looked away before he could anyway. I had to remember why I was here. Soon, this man beside me would be no more. I would kill him for what he did to Jamie. I would not lose it. I would not break down because brotherly banter reminded me of Jamie. There will always be things that reminded me of my big brother. I needed to get my head on straight.

"Michael was right though," I said to Jasper. He was massaging the back of my neck. I had come to realize something. He hadn't stopped touching me since we got in the car. A part of me liked it. Another part, the side that tried to rationalize everything, wanted to rip his arm off. "Reality sucks. But what can we do?"

"Thank you, Bella," Michael said with a smile.

I smiled back at him. What would he think about me wanting to kill Jasper? He would probably try to defend his brother. He was no match for me. Leah would be a problem. She was lethal. So was I. It would be a good fight. Garrett posed a problem. Ex-Army, trained sniper, mercenary. He would be difficult to take down. But I was up for the challenge.

Yes, that was what I should be thinking about. How to get rid of the Whitlocks and their associates. That was a safer train of thought. And one Jasper wasn't making easy to stay on. His fingers felt heavenly against my skin. I could picture us somewhere else with far less clothes on.

I turned and stared at him intently. He smirked. The bastard knew what he was doing to me. "Reality might suck ass, but it does give us time to think about the shit we really should to be doing."

I licked my lips, biting into the bottom one. He grew serious; staring at my lips like he wanted to lick them for me. "I know what you want to do."

"Please, don't tell us," Michael begged us. "I can guess and I hate picturing Jasper naked. It upsets my stomach."

Jasper smacked him over the head again. Leah and I laughed.

We stopped in front of my place and I got out of the back of the SUV. Jasper followed. My bike stopped behind the truck and Garrett got off. I almost forgot he was around. Then again, he was the ghost. It was his job to just appear when needed. His eyes met mine and he stared coldly at me.

Well fuck.

I stared back at him just as coldly. If he thought he was going to intimidate me, the motherfucker had another thing coming. I was going to have fun snapping his neck.

I knew he didn't trust me. Maybe it was something else. Maybe he had a crush on Jasper. He could swing that way.

I smirked at him and shook my head when his eyes widened after I blew a kiss at him and winked. He got into the back of the SUV I had just vacated and slammed the door. I laughed.

"Quit fucking with Garrett, babe."

I chuckled but otherwise didn't answer him. I walked up to the door and opened it. I stepped in and Jasper followed. "Are you going to follow me around?" I turned and asked him. He smirked and said nothing.

I shook my head and went to the kitchen. I put the coffee on. I moved down the short hall to the bedroom. I walked inside and began to strip. I got out of my jacket, boots and jeans, leaving myself in my boy shorts and tank top. I could feel Jasper's eyes on me the entire time. I liked it.

I turned and looked at him appraising me. His eyes took their time traveling the length of my body. I shuddered and gasped. His eyes snapped to mine. They were so blue. He took two large steps and was in front of me before I could say a thing. His lips smashed to mine. He was pushing me toward the bed while our hands worked together, ridding ourselves of our clothes. And the moment he entered me, I felt nothing but relief. His movements were sustenance. An awakening. My soul screamed for him. I gripped his shoulders for dear life while his strong thrusts grew erratic. I wanted the pleasure building inside of me to overflow. One of his hands held mine in his over our heads while the other lifted my leg, throwing it over his hip, making me scream as I took him deeper. He was good at fucking. It was a damn shame. I wanted to hate this but couldn't. My body was under his command.

How fucked up was my life?

"Baby, you're so tight."

"Don't stop."

"I won't." He grunted. "I need…fuck, I need…." He didn't say anything else. It was a secret. It was something no one knew about him.

Jasper and I were too much alike. It was scary.

"I want…" I found myself admitting. "I need…" I couldn't stand to say anything else. I would slip. I could feel it. Jasper had the power to make me.

But…

"Oh!"

We came together.

He collapsed on top of me, panting. I wrapped my arms around him. I felt the tingling. The security his arms provided and I was selfish. I didn't want to let it go.

After a moment, Jasper said, "I should go. Fucking reality."

I laughed.

We cleaned up and got dressed. I followed him to the front door. He lifted me off my feet, kissing me deeply. I wrapped my legs around his waist and devoured his mouth. I put my all into it because I knew he was going to hate the ground I walked on when he found out who I was and what I came to do. Maybe this was how I could rationalize it. I would selfishly take all Jasper had to offer me now before I had to reveal myself.

Why couldn't Jamie be right? Why shouldn't I allow myself to be happy in the bliss I was in with Jasper until he found out the truth? It wasn't like I would have it again. After this case, I was sure to be thrown in a loony bin.

He pulled away with a smile that could melt my cold heart. "I'll see you later, baby."

"See you later," I said with a smile.

He looked deep into my eyes and I was caught in his sweet glare. He was looking for something and whatever he found, it made him happy. He smiled again and it was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. My heart stopped, stuttered and started all in the same breath.

Even after he went out the door, I stood there with a hand over my heart, not knowing when I put it there.

This was something else. Jasper and I were falling. No. I couldn't.

But I was.

"Damn it all too hell." I thought as I moved to the kitchen on shaky legs.

I drink my coffee with my mind a million miles away. I showered with thoughts of Jasper in there with me. I got dressed with my mind nowhere near here. Alice walked into the bedroom unannounced with a scowl on her face. I couldn't even answer what she said at first.

"What did you say?"

Alice scoffed and looked at me coldly. "You're too close, Bella. You're in too deep. You should back off now."

That snapped me out of my fog. "No! I'm the only one who can do this, Ally!"

"Then stop feeling things for him!" She hissed at me.

I turned away from her. "I can't," I whispered. "How? Maybe I can use it, Alice."

"No," she said, shaking her head. "I saw the way you looked at him after he kissed you. You're falling for him. You're fraternizing with the enemy!"

Hold the fuck up. "And how did you think I was going to get close?" I shouted at her. Where did she get off judging me?

"Yeah, you're close alright," she teased.

"Alice, quitting bugging me before I shoot you."

"Thinking like your boyfriend?"

She didn't say anything else. I had her by the throat against the wall before she could think of any dumb thing to say to me.

"I'll get the job done."

I let go and walked out of the room then out the door. I jumped on my bike and started it up. It roared to life and I sped off. I needed to get to the club. A member of the Chekov was coming in and I wanted to be there. I could gather some information as well as figure out a way to permanently place myself in denial when it came to Jasper.

I would not feel anything for him. I was not in too deep. I would rid myself of these confusing feelings after I got rid of him.

Jasper was nothing but another case closed.


	12. James said

_**Jasper Whitlock, 2006**_

I was in too deep. I was way over my head. This was a territory I wasn't familiar with. But how could I deny what I felt? How could I keep it hidden? As I looked around the room at all the hardened faces of the criminals I called family, I realized pretty fucking quick I would have to find a way.

Bella invoked things. Feelings I shouldn't be having. Especially for her. I tried to talk myself out of wanting anything to do with her a number of times, only to talk myself right back into it.

Her brother had seen it too. He had warned me about going after his little sister. He didn't want me anywhere near her; at least not in a romantic aspect. I was a criminal. Not because we exchanged information and I was willing to go out on a fucking limb for my family, didn't mean me and him were pals and I could date much less fuck around with his sister.

Then I thought about the things we have down in the sack and I smirked. Oh I fucked her alright.

Forget my deranged pride. What was I going to do? I was falling for her and I was confused as fuck about it. On the other hand, I have never seen things so clearly. Love was a screwed up game. Wait, was it love? Was I falling in love with the unobtainable girl? Was she unobtainable though? Could I still say that? I mean I have "obtained" her more than once, so...No! This wasn't what I should be thinking about. Anything to do with Bella could wait until later. Right now was about business, the end was closing in on me and I had to get things done.

Alexei Chekov had already landed in the country and would be arriving any moment. I should be thinking about the motherfucker I had to babysit.

Alexei Chekov was the son of the leader, Vladimir Chekov, one of the most ruthless men in all of Europe. Alexei was a lot like Michael, he was the little brother looking to prove himself to his big brother, and enforcer of the Chekov gang, Sergei Chekov, as well as their father, Vladimir.

Sergei was a lot like me. In fact, it was disturbing how similar Pop, Michael and I were to the Chekovs. We both loved and respected each other and if anyone threatened that, we would cut their throats. That was where the similarities stopped though. The Whitlocks weren't as fucked up as the Chekovs when it came to how we went about exacting revenge. The blood and gore were too twisted and the Chekovs loved that shit. They were fucking terrorists.

"Where's your head at, Jasper?" Michael asked, waving a hand I hadn't noticed until now, in front of my face. I slapped it away.

"What?"

"I've been trying to get your attention."

"Ever thought I was just ignoring you?" I wasn't. I just wanted to anywhere but here. This crisis of conscience shit was fucking with my nerves.

We were at one of the warehouses in the boardroom awaiting Alexei's arrival. I wanted to get right down to business, but he wanted to relax first. I made it clear to their liaison I wasn't interested in that. We would talk business as soon as Alexei's feet hit American soil, then party after.

Michael had a smug smirk on his face I was sure I was about to smack him over the head for. The asshole was about to say some shit.

"I thought you were thinking about a certain…"

I was in his face so fast he looked like he stopped breathing. I was pretty sure he did. I didn't feel an ounce of air hit my face while he stared in to my eyes…terrified.

"Say something else," I said in a menacing tone.

"Jasper," Peter started and I leveled him with a furious glare, effectively shutting him up.

"Listen, Jasper," Michael tried. He started breathing again.

"Shut the hell up!" I snapped. "Not another word."

Aro laughed, reminding me of his unneeded presence. He was here to oversee the deal. The bastard wanted to be in this shit from the beginning to the end. Too bad, it won't be the ending he was hoping for. I would never hand over the Whitlock gang to his doped up, scrawny, backstabbing ass.

"What's with the attitude, baby blue?" Aro taunted. "I want to know what the kid has to say."

I glared at Michael when it looked like he was about to answer Aro.

"It's none of your concern," I sneered at Aro. "It's a family matter."

I stressed on the word 'family' while I spoke to the bastard. He scoffed.

To others, it may sound like he wasn't affected by my little snip, but the fucker was. I could feel it in my bones.

Peter got the call. Alexei was on route to the warehouse. Good. I wasn't one to be kept waiting. I had been here long enough already. Being around Aro made my skin crawl and my blood boil. Bella could calm that and I wanted to get to club and see her. I hope to God she was wearing something tight. Something I would want to take off with my teeth.

The limo pulled to a stop on the security screen. A bulky guy who could be described as Emmett's twin, or if I was being truthful, he was bigger than Emmett, got out of the limo and started to make his way to the building with two guys flanking him.

I didn't want to at the moment, but seeing Alexei, in the flesh, reminded me of a conversation with James.

" _So your sister is gonna come for me if anything happens to you?" I didn't believe the chick I saw in that picture from James' family hiding place or whatever was some mini Rambo._

 _James looked at me. He didn't say anything. He just took a long draw of his cigarette and continued to stare at me. It was unnerving. I could freak fuckers with the stare and say nothing bullshit, but I hated when it was turned on me. Which wasn't too often. Most feared looking me in the eye._

 _He took another draw from his cigarette. "Yes, she will come for you. Shouldn't you be focused on the Chekovs and knowing who is who?"_

" _I already studied that shit." I did. I knew Vladimir would skin me alive and smile while doing it. I knew Sergei would pose a problem seeing as he was as skilled as me in a fight. His choice of weapons was his two 9mms and his dagger. I had two knives and two guns on me at all times._

" _Good." James didn't say anything else._

" _So, that little cutie is really your sister?"_

 _His eyes were murderous when they snapped to me. "If it was in my power, I wouldn't need you. I regret telling you shit. I should let you and your lot fucking die. You're no saint. You're not trying to save innocents. Every one of you is guilty in some way or another! I'm throwing a lot away coming to you for help! Letting you know your precious psycho Aro is looking to kill every one of yous! But like you, I'm being fucking selfish! This is for my family's safety as much as yours."_

 _In that moment, I could feel it. He was carrying a secret. Something he wasn't saying. Something he hadn't told anyone._

" _What's with you?"_

 _Leah was watching him closely. She would snap at a moment's notice and end this alliance if James made the wrong move._

" _What the hell are you talking about?" he said angrily._

" _Something's up. You look like your whole world is falling apart around you. What are you hiding?"_

 _He looked at me. Long and hard. And then he started to laugh. It was borderline manic. "You're good, Whitlock. I've read about you, but to experience it, is something else."_

" _You're making it too easy for me. Matters not, you're hiding something big."_

" _Yeah. It's big. It has to do with Aro and my family. And the snitches who are going to turn me in."_

 _What the fuck did Aro have to do with his family? "You know the snitches," I stated._

" _Yeah." He took another draw of his cigarette._

" _First, before I tell you, because I'm already dead, there's no fucking way out for me so might as well someone else knows the truth, you need to know that this shit with Aro, the Chekovs, Banner and all the big wigs in their back pockets is too much to just expose. We have to be clever. That'll be your part. You're not like your dad, Nicky. You're not as flamboyant and oblivious like Michael. You think, Jasper. You look at a situation from more than one angle. That's why I picked you to come to with this. You were my best bet. When this shit goes south for me, make Bella understand what we were doing here. She can help you complete my mission."_

 _He started laughing but I was too stunned to speak. He knew he wasn't going to make it out alive and I had to admire his bravery for it. He was facing death head on. Some motherfuckers were pussies about it. But not this fucker. James Swan was one of the good ones. He was going down with a middle finger pointing at Death._

" _You know, if you weren't a criminal and I didn't hate the thought of my little sister even knowing about boys, I think you two would have been perfect for each other."_

" _Oh yeah?"_

 _James took a draw of his cigarette. "Yeah. Now, this is the truth about Aro and my family."_

I was too shocked to speak after James told me what was going on. Leah was stunned and I had never seen her stunned.

"It's nice to meet you, Jasper!" Alexei said, greeting me with a brisk hug. He was a fucking brick wall, but I could take him if I had to.

"Nice to see you too, Alexei." I smiled. I wanted him to be at ease.

He nodded with a grunt.

"Let's take a seat and talk business."

"Yes, let's," Alexei said.

We took a seat and got down to business. Alexei tried to sway me away from the argument with his complaints about having to come straight to a meeting instead of going out and having a little fun first.

"I love the women," he said in a heavy Russian accent. "When do we get to them?"

Aro answered for me and I wanted to pound his face in because his answer to Alexei made my heart stop. "Speaking of women, there are lots of good ones Jasper can entertain you with. In fact, there is a feisty one at Jasper's club I think you would like."

Alexei got excited and my blood started to boil. No fucking way would I allow it to happen. I wouldn't subject her to him. I knew Alexei's background. To him, no meant yes and he loved it when the women fought back. Aro was putting Bella in Alexei's cross hairs. "I'm sure Jasper would let you play with her." The bastard smirked at me, daring me to claim Bella at the table.

"Is this true?" Alexei said, all thoughts of business blown out of his head. He heard of a target and I had to warn her.

"I have connections with a lot of desirables, Alexei," I polished it off, trying to keep the anger out of my voice. "I can find you something nice to play with."

"But your bitch would be perfect for him," Aro urged. "She's got quite the mouth on her. Damn. Those pouty lips. How do they feel, Jasper?"

Alexei smirked. He loved the idea of Bella. He was going to find her as soon as we left here and I had no choice. I would have to take him to the club. It was my job to open talks and ensure everything ran smoothly.

This was not going the way I wanted.

"I want to meet your girl," Alexei said. I could see the lust in his eyes.

Well, damn. I would have to kill the son of a bitch.


	13. I said No

_**Agent Swan aka Bella Dwyer**_

He had me by the throat against the wall. I guess he didn't like the swift kick to the balls. He was huge. Like the fucking Incredible Hulk. But I could do this. This asshole wasn't going to get the better of me. He wasn't going to get anywhere near where he wanted to be.

How dare he! It was a pity he didn't know who he was fucking with. I ate brawny bastards like him for breakfast.

He spat something in Russian angrily. I laughed and spit in his face watching the bloody saliva slide down his fucked up face. His right eye was swelling. My left would look like shit tomorrow. I didn't give a shit as long as I got to see tomorrow. I was in. I was almost there. Soon, I would exact revenge for my brother. And I wasn't about to die at the hand of a sadistic gangster spoiled brat bastard who thought all the pussy in the world was waiting on him to abuse them. I was going to castrate this bastard.

He yelled again and we started fighting. The bastard was so horny he was stupid. He was trying to get my shorts unbuttoned. Fuck the headache I would have tomorrow. As long as there was a tomorrow. I head butted the punk. He yelled and slammed my back in the wall, knocking the air out of me but I wasn't through. I just had to get him off me and get the knife out of my right boot. I was going to skin his ass alive.

"You stay still, bitch!" He yelled at me.

"Screw you! Get off me!"

He laughed and tried to kiss me. I bit into his bottom lip and held on until I tasted blood. "Bitch!" He held me by throat with one hand and moved to slap me with the other.

That was it. I was done playing. In three moves, I had him off of me. Every time he came at me, I countered him with a hard hit to his body. We both got good hits in until we were a bloody mess. His men were outside and from all the shouting they probably thought we were messing around but I was about to kill their boss. I was out for blood. I should fear him. It wasn't like I didn't know who he was. I just didn't care. I was going to kill Alexei Chekov.

He came at me and I swiftly moved. Before he could think, I jumped up and kicked him into Jasper's desk. He dropped on top of it like a lodge and then rolled off and fell to the floor. I spat out the blood and watched him get up. I got my knife out, ready for the kill.

Just then, the door slapped open. Someone grabbed me from behind, but they weren't fast enough. I threw the knife into Alexei's left leg, listening to the motherfucker howl like a beast as he dropped to the ground in pain. Whoever was restraining me was preventing me from killing the asshole and that wouldn't do.

I hit them in the stomach with my elbow and flipped them over my shoulder. It was a woman. The drugged out bitch Aro was fucking, Jane. Well, fuck, I was going to kill her.

She got up quick and I kicked her in the back before she could do anything, sending the whore sprawling on the ground. Another guy came at me, shouting in Russian, I kicked him in the face and then knocked his feet out from under him. I saw Aro in my peripheral, but he was just standing there, looking amused.

Another guy came at me. He was good enough to drop me and jump on top of me. He was choking me when I kneed him in the balls, then elbowed him in the eye, dislocating it from the fucking socket. I grabbed a silver letter opener on the floor within my reach and stabbed the thug in the next eye. He dropped opposite me, screaming in Russian. Jane jumped on top of me, yelling like a drugged up hyena. The bitch was strong.

They were right. Crazy people really had a strength to them.

"Hi," she greeted while choking me. She was holding tight but I would be damned if she took me out. "I like you. So sexy!" She leaned forward while choking me and licked the blood of my face.

I wrapped my legs around her. I pulled them tight, wanting to break some of her ribs. She yelled and tried to get me off of her. I squeezed tighter. Aro was still standing there, looking amused. I think the fucker was turned on.

How sick!

I pulled Jane down by her hair and head butt the bitch. She tried to shake it off so I did it again and again and again. The move was fucking with my focus but I had to keep my wits about me. No one was here to help me.

That thought came too soon. Then again, I was too busy to hear him come in. And he could move like a fucking ghost when he wanted to.

Jane and I were fighting and then she wasn't there. She was being lifted off of me and held by Jasper like ragdoll. He righted her and she smiled a sick smile at him and he punched her in the face, sending her flying to the ground opposite me.

Emmett picked me up bridal style. "It'll be okay," he said reassuringly.

I nodded to Emmett but I was watching Jasper. He was furious. Aro tried to stop him from going after Jane, but Jasper gave the old bastard three rapid punches to the face and Aro fell down. He pulled his gun out and when he tried to point it at Jasper, it was kicked it out of his hand by Jasper. Aro tried to reach for the gun when Jasper stepped away from him, but Michael stopped him. He pointed his gun and cocked it in Aro's face.

That bitch Alexei was screaming in pain, but Jasper didn't seem to care. Things would be fucked up. I knew it. I had crossed some lines but it wasn't my fault. I was set up.

The room was tense and poised for bloody action. We could all die here right here, right now. Leah and Garrett had their weapons on Alexei and his men. Peter was watching Jasper's back. And my sister was beside Emmett with her 9mm in hand. Our eyes met and I nodded discreetly before turning back to watch Jasper.

God, he was fast! Jane was trying to get away from him, but it was futile. He stopped her from running every time she screamed at him and tried. It looked like he was toying with her but he was dead serious. Jasper seriously hated these two. I could practically feel his hatred radiating off of him. I think if he could kill them and get away with it he would. But Aro was his dad's right hand man so Jasper was in a bind. I think it was why he was currently settling for torturing the shit out of them.

His body was rigid as he grabbed Jane and stopped her from running to Aro for the last time. But instead of focusing on his actions, I was puzzled by his words to her. What did "I should have stopped you the last time," mean?

I couldn't think about it now. Jasper was in front of me and his eyes were the darkest I had ever seen them. The time it had taken me to ponder one thought, he had moved to me. They snapped from me to Emmett. "Get her out of here."

Emmett didn't hesitate. I was being taken out of the office, cradled in his arms, leaving his boss to possibly kill everyone left in there except his own men. And all I could think was, I'm glad he showed up.

I didn't know when I fell asleep. I just knew I woke up bandaged and in Jasper's bed and Rosie was with me.

"What happened?" was the first thing she said and I told her everything. From my argument with Alice and her second guessing me to turning up for work and having to deal with a pissy waitress who wanted to fuck Jasper and was jealous I got to his dick first.

I was going to kick her ass when I went back to work.

Rosie laughed at my declaration. "Well, I know you'll win. I didn't raise you to lose."

I smiled and leaned on her shoulder. "I went up there because Aro told me to. Maloney said to make it quick because Jasper wasn't there."

"It was Aro," she said and then explained how Aro was bugging Jasper at the meeting today about me. Alexei liked the idea of me. "Aro had to get Jasper out of Alexei's way so he staged something at the restaurant."

"What?"

"Jasper's dad is in town. Aro made it seem like it would be okay for Nicky to call him to lunch. When Maloney called him personally to tell him you had gone upstairs on Aro's orders…" She sighed and got a funny look on her face. It was admiration. "Honey bee, he ran out of there like a bat out of hell to get to you."

I didn't answer. I didn't know how to process it so I laid my head on her shoulder and closed my eyes, hoping to drift off again. Then I remembered.

"Do you know what Jasper meant?" I asked Rosie.

"About what?"

"When he was choking Jane, he said, I should have stopped you the last time. What does that mean?" I asked Rosie, but she was staring at something behind me.

I turned and saw him. My heart leapt in my throat. How much had he heard and what the fuck did he do because he was covered with blood. "One day I'll tell you, Bella. I'll tell you everything."

Now what does that mean? What was going on here?


	14. The Other Side of Me

_**Jasper Whitlock, 2006**_

Maloney wasn't done talking when I dropped the phone and sprang up, knocking my chair to the ground.

"What the hell, Jasper?" Pop shouted, slamming his fist down on to table. "Sit down! I was talking to you."

Like I gave a shit right now. Bella was in trouble. "I've gotta go." I didn't wait for a reply. I was out the door.

This was Aro's doing and I was going to kill him for it. He set this shit up. Pop coming into town on the same day as Alexei Chekov was no coincidence. He had played me from the start. It was why he was goading me at the meeting. He needed a target. Someone he knew he could fuck with that would get to me and he chose Bella.

My dumbass must have given away how much I cared about her.

When Pop called to inform me he was in town and wanted to see me for lunch at my restaurant, my mind ran wild. Rationally, I knew he was here because he wanted to know how everything went. It pissed me off he'd even have to ask but I wouldn't say shit. I wouldn't have the time to. I knew Aro had set me up and I would have to get back to the club as soon as I would have left it.

Why did Pop have to come to town now? _Because Aro told him to._ Aside from that, I wasn't a fucking kid. I knew what I was doing. I could run a meeting. I could conduct myself accordingly. I wasn't a crazed drug fiend like his friend.

For a second, the crazy side of me thought Pop might be involved in whatever fucked up plan Aro had before I decided against it. No. He wouldn't do it. Pop wasn't a crazed fool like Aro. He wouldn't do shit to hurt me and Michael intentionally so he couldn't be setting Bella up. This was all Aro.

Leah broke all kind of traffic rules to get me back to the club before Bella got hurt. I knew she could take care of herself but the man in me wasn't about to leave her to do it. I was going to save her and I felt good about it.

We arrived at the club. Everyone was downstairs, standing around and looking scared while loud commotion could be heard coming from upstairs. I ran past them and headed up the stairs; taking them three at a time. When I got to my office, the door was wide open and the scene before me made my blood boil and my chest puff out in pride.

My girl was incredible. She was fucking astonishing. I felt so proud of her. If I wasn't about to kill some motherfuckers, I would stop to tell her so.

There were men lying on the floor. Some injured and howling in pain. Others looked unconscious and I think a few were dead. Alexei saw me and started screaming something at me. He must have thought I was here to save him. To put a stop to whatever shit he and Aro started. There was a knife in his leg and I smirked. Bella's knife. I wanted to go over to him and rip it out so I could stab him in the neck with it. He was dead for touching my Bella. He just didn't know it yet.

I spotted Aro standing in the corner. He was looking at something in front of him, smiling triumphantly, until our eyes met and the fucked up happy look on the bastard's face faded into one of fear and anticipation. I already saw what he was staring at. She wasn't going to win. Bella wouldn't let her and I was here to fuck Aro's shit up. So when I glanced at what he was looking at, and saw that bitch Jane on top of Bella, choking her, I looked back at him with a smirk and his eyes grew wide as I stalked over to Jane and Bella in three strides.

I yanked Jane off of my girl and punched her in the face, watching the bitch stagger and fall. She was about to say something when she caught the look on my face and shut the hell up. She looked scared. Her dead eyes were moving between me and Aro like she expected him to do something.

I wanted him to do something. I wanted to end the bastard here and now.

Emmett spoke and I didn't even remember he was with me until I saw him pick Bella up from the floor. Shit! I should have done that. I didn't like his hands on her. I was the one who was supposed to comfort her but I had some things to handle first. I would apologize later.

Emmett cradled her to his chest and Rosalie moved to their side. Good. Bella was safe and I didn't feel so angry about another's man's hands on her because her sister was with them.

Bella was really fucking with my head, but not enough to rob me of my murderous sense, so when I went over to Jane and Aro tried to stop me. I got his punk ass off of me. He drew his gun on me and Michael pointed his gun at Aro's head, daring him to make another move. I wanted to hug my brother. I was proud of the little punk. He understood what was about to happen. Michael knew what I was going to do. I hated it would be in front of him, but I could learn to live with the regret. I didn't exactly what to glorify the lifestyle to him, but Michael had to learn that some motherfuckers needed to be taught a hard lesson sometimes.

Jane stuttered nonsense when I picked her up from the floor. I didn't care about whatever she was rambling about. She didn't mean it. She just hated that she got caught. I hit her in the stomach to shut her up. Right now, it didn't matter if she was a woman. She had touched my woman. "I should've stopped you last time," I said to Jane and then I rained down on her until I was satisfied. By the time I left her alone, Aro was cursing and threatening me. I went over to Emmett and told him to get Bella out of here.

I wanted her outta here. I wanted my time. Aro wanted to mess with me, let's see how he handled my undivided attention.

With Bella gone, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I knew what was coming and I welcomed it. Leah smiled. Michael looked ready and he better be. He knew the monster I was when I got this way. Garrett cocked his gun. The fucker was always ready to kill something.

As I was and I was going to kill them all.

Alexei was complaining about Bella stabbing him in the leg and also about her not being as submissive as he thought she should have been. I listened with a smirk. And I laughed before telling him in Russian, "She is submissive when she needs to be. There was one problem though…"

"What?" The bastard had the heart to ask me.

So I gloated, "You weren't me."

Since Bella was the tool Aro thought he could use to make me seem weak, it was only fair to show how much I would do for her and to those who had the audacity to touch what was mine. And I would be saving Alexei for last. The dumbass kept talking like I cared about shit he had to say. He was a chatty son of a bitch and I wanted him to shut the fuck up now so I took my gun out and pointed it at him.

He looked stunned. He stuttered but otherwise continued to talk.

He needed to stop.

But I didn't want the fucker to get lightheaded from blood loss if I shot him in the other leg. I wanted his ass lucid while I tortured the hell out of him. When Jane saw my gun and the fact that I cocked it, she whimpered and started crawling to a corner. I turned it on her.

Alexei spoke of Bella again, and I answered harshly in Russian. "Whatever has happened here, my girlfriend will not be blamed!" Yeah, I called Bella my girlfriend. When it reached Pop's ear, I would never hear the end of it but I had come to a serious decision on the way over here.

I was falling for Bella. I wasn't going to let her go. Whatever time I had left, I wanted to spend it with her in my life.

"My woman isn't weak! She is tough! She understands her place and knows that no man is to touch her as I would never allow it! She will defend what is mine to the death!"

Alexei tried to counter but I gave him no time to talk. "My girlfriend will not be blamed," I repeated in a deadly calm tone. "This is the action of you and of Aro Volturi." I glanced at Aro as I told Alexei this and when I turned back to Alexei, I concluded, "Now, with every action, a price must be paid."

With that, I killed every one of his guards. I blew every one of their heads off while he screamed offensively at me. I didn't listen. I drowned out his voice with the sounds of gunshots. Then I turned back my attention to Jane.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I won't touch what's yours again!" She was quick to say but it wasn't enough. I shot her in the shoulder and laughed as she screamed in pain. I had shot the bitch already the day she killed James and here we were again. I thought it was good enough for the moment. I wasn't through with her. I just wanted to kill Aro first.

There was blood all over me. I was covered in it. But just two more. I pointed the gun at Alexei and he gasped, his eyes widening.

"Put it down, Jasper," Pop said from behind me. "Don't even think about it."

Alexei smiled. I cocked my gun and the smile faltered. "Don't do it, Jasper! Not over some woman!" I turned the gun on my father.

"They violated." Was all I said.

"I know," Pop said, trying to reason with me. I was at the edge and ready to jump. I would kill Alexei and Aro and burn the bodies. No one touched what was mine and got away with it.

"You're not going to let some girl ruin everything," Pop said sternly. "I won't let you."

Alexei's big brother, Sergei, appeared at the door. He walked into the room, stepping over the bodies as he went. "Well, I do enjoy this welcome," the cold bastard said, looking down at the dead in admiration. "What have you done, little brother?" he said to Alexei.

Alexei started to explain but Sergei didn't want to hear it. He slapped Alexei across the face so hard, I felt it. "Fool." He twisted Bella's blade in his brother's leg, making him collapse in pain.

"I like your hospitality, Jasper," Sergei turned to me and said.

"Thank you," I replied with my gun on my father. This wasn't the first time I pointed it at him and it probably wouldn't be the last.

"I take blame for this. My brother had a crossed a serious line. There will be no more interruptions. He will take women you offer and be thankful. He will agree to your terms and be grateful," Sergei concluded with finality while he smirked as his little brother writhed in pain.

"I understand," I said but I didn't lower the gun. Pop was furious. I didn't care. I turned the gun on Aro. "Since I won't kill my father at the moment, and to me you're very expendable, I think I'll kill you instead."

"Don't think about it, Jasper," Pop threatened. "If you dare, I'll…"

I chuckled darkly at my father. "Always coming to his defense, huh? Fine. I'll leave him with a warning. Since I can't kill him…yet, here's what I have to say." I fired my gun, letting the bullet fly. Aro screamed and went down, holding his neck. Pop bend down to help him.

I walked by them, making my way out of my office. "Next time it'll be your head."

Bella was in my bed. She looked good there. She was asking Rosalie about what I had said. I ran a risk of her hearing me when I had said it, but so be it. We were at a point of no return anyway. I would have to tell her the truth and soon. Things were about to change.

"One day I'll tell you, Bella. I'll tell you everything." I said to her. She looked confused but hopeful.

"Right now you need to change," Bella said as Rosalie left us alone.

I looked down at my clothes and sighed. These would have to be burned. Shit! I really liked this suit.


	15. No Return

_**Bella Swan aka Agent Swan aka Bella Dwyer**_

I sat on the bed in trepidation. I have never felt fear from any man. Not this much anyway. Not until I looked into Jasper's eyes. The darkness there was enough to break anyone.

I had to stay strong.

One look from him told Rosie to leave. And his glare dared me to follow her.

I didn't.

He stepped into the bedroom fully and closed the door behind him, locking it. I wasn't leaving. Whatever came next would be a fight. I was prepared. I feared him, at least I was partly afraid of whatever monster stood in front of me, because my instincts were telling me not to fuck with him right now.

But what was life worth if you didn't fuck with things every once in awhile? I lived on the edge. So why would ripping his throat out if he attacked me be any different?

"What do you mean?" I dared to speak and he looked at me like I was dumb but otherwise didn't answer. His eyes said, "You know exactly what I meant." The only thing was…I didn't. I didn't know what he was talking about. What happened before? What did it have to do with me? It had something to do with me. I picked that much up. Whatever it was, Rosie wasn't privileged to knowledge of it or else she would have told me.

He left me in the bedroom, heading to his en suite bathroom. I followed because I was a pushy bitch and I was demanding answers he obviously wasn't going to give. It wouldn't deter me though.

I watched him strip. While I enjoyed the sight of his muscles and naked body on full display, I wanted some truth. "What did you mean?" I asked again and this time I got a scoff and an eye roll.

Well, damn. I wanted to hit him over the head for that but I wouldn't dare touch him.

He climbed into his shower and turned it on. I watched from outside the doors as he washed every inch of him while dutifully ignoring me. He finished and climbed out, dried off and wrapped the towel around his waist. He left the bloody clothes in the bathroom and I didn't ask why. I just silently followed him to the bedroom, sitting on the bed and watching him go through his drawers for something to put on. He settled for a pair of jeans, sans the underwear, and a white t-shirt. That was it.

He walked over to the bed, barefooted and hot as hell, and I crawled away. He grabbed my foot and pulled me to the edge. Wordlessly, he started to check me. I felt like I was in a doctor's office. "This is going to hurt like a bitch in the morning," he said more to himself than me while he examined a spot on my head. When he cradled my face, I was at an impasse. A part of me thought he was going to kiss me. He was so close I could taste his minty breath. The other side thought he was going to break my neck with how tight he was holding on to me. His eyes were intense as he stared at me. Everything he had to say lay in those two blue irises.

I wished he would say something. Instead, he let go of me and walked away, heading to the farthest corner of the room and taking a seat in a comfy chair there.

"You should get some rest."

"You haven't told me anything," I argued.

"Not yet."

What was with the one and two words? "This is bullshit!" I huffed and threw myself down on the bed. I was mad. I was sad. I have never felt so alone.

The sound of shouting and things crashing woke me up. The loud commotion coming from outside of Jasper's bedroom door, made me get up and run to the door, yanking it open. Coming face-to-face with Jasper's very angry father was an experience in itself. No words were exchanged, he just grabbed me. He pulled me from the room, slamming me into the wall opposite the door, holding me there by my throat.

"You bitch!" Nicky Whitlock screamed into my face while rapidly cutting off my air supply. He wanted to kill me. Something I wasn't about to allow.

I brought a hand up and crossed his, slammed my elbow down on his offensive arm, forcing him to disengage. When he backed away, I kicked him in the chest, sending him flying back.

He held his stomach and looked up in shock. What? Was it the first time a woman stood up to him? Well, I was proud to be the first. I wasn't about to be taken out yet. Not unless I was taking his son with me. A life for a life. Jasper ordered Jamie's hit and I wasn't leaving here, alive or dead until I got my revenge.

Guns were cocked and trained on me. Nicky's men were ready to kill me.

Once again, Jasper stepped in.

His father righted himself and was advancing on us. "You!" he shouted at me. He reached for me but he never got to lay a hand on me. Jasper stood between us. He shoved me back into the bedroom. He pushed me so hard, I stumbled and fell on my ass. I got up as quickly as I had fallen and jumped further back into the room.

Nicky was screaming at Jasper to move. He wanted me out there so he could deal with me himself.

"Get her out here, Jasper!" He shouted at his son. "I want to deal with the little bitch myself!"

"Don't call her that!" Jasper yelled back.

Nicky looked surprise. Then he looked devious as he smiled a leering smile at his son while he mocked him. "What is it, boy? Am I offending your whore?" Nicky got into Jasper's face. "Answer me, boy. Am I offending her?"

"Get out of my face," Jasper said deadly.

"Or what?" His dad asked. "You're going to kill me for some bitch? The pussy is that good?"

Well I felt offended. Did the old man have to go there? I wanted to slap the teeth out of his head.

Jasper didn't answer verbally. He socked his dad in jaw so hard, the old man fell to his knees. "Don't insult what you know nothing about."

Jasper turned to me. "Stay in there, you hear me?"

I nodded. I wasn't about to disobey. The monster was ever present in his eyes. Was this what his enemies saw before he killed them? It was the terrifying thing I had ever seen.

So why did I feel pride when I saw it? Pride lingered beneath the fear I felt when I looked into Jasper's murderous eyes. Both now and earlier. Maybe it was because I knew what it was like to be a monster myself and I had found a kindred spirit in him.

I drew only one conclusion about his defense of me though. He wasn't letting anyone interfere because he wanted to deal with me himself.

Jasper and his dad continued to argue. Nicky told him he was letting his dick lead him at the way wrong time and if he fucks things up any further, he would pay the price.

I guessed that had something to do with me.

Jasper cared about me and had mistakenly made it clear to someone. Word had gotten to his father and Nicky Whitlock was here to nip it in the bud. Jasper was his enforcer. He couldn't have his best going soft over a woman.

If only he knew. I was here to do more than that. And I wasn't even going to think about how I felt about Jasper possibly going soft over me or caring about me. He knew this wouldn't last, right? We couldn't be. Right?

Jasper countered his father, telling him to fuck off and to go take care of his fucked up drug addict friend and to get the fuck out of his place. They shouted until I thought the walls were going to collapse and then things started to crash. A gun went off and Leah came to me. The way she stalked over to me I thought she was going to attack me.

"Get into the bathroom, climb into the tub and stay there until Jasper tells you to come out!" She ordered, cocking my own gun and handing it to me. When did she go for it? And how long has she had it? She pushed me toward the bathroom and I did as I was told. I went in there and climbed into the tub, lying on my side with my gun at the ready.

I was in there so long I started to second guess things. I wondered if they knew who I really was. Was it why Nicky was here? Was he trying to save his son from me? If so, why not blurt it out when I was out there so Jasper could learn the truth? Why keep it to himself?

No. Nicky didn't know. If he did, he would have shot me as soon as he saw me. He wouldn't have held me by the throat against the wall. I would have a bullet between my eyes.

So why were they fighting? This had to do with whatever Jasper did in his office after Emmett and Rosie left with me. I remember Maloney being worried about me when we got downstairs and most of the staff also. Well, except for the bitchy waitress who wanted in Jasper's pants. I was going to get her ass. I was going to let her know who his dick belong to.

Wait, what? Was I staking a claim? As long as it kept her skanky ass away from Jasper, you damn right I was.

I was searching my mind for the possible reason Nicky was so mad at Jasper. Well, it was partly obvious. Jasper attacked one of the Chekovs because of me. He was choosing his bitch over business. Nicky couldn't be pleased.

But I agreed with Jasper. The Chekovs were a dangerous group and if they were in town and dealing with the Whitlocks, nothing good was going to come of it for the Whitlocks. The Chekovs overtook any gang they dealt with. If the gang was as powerful as the Volturis or the Whitlocks, they went after them. They killed the leading party and took over the lackeys and connections. They were a danger to society. Terrorists. Murdering sons of bitches who didn't give a fuck. Fear and bloodshed were their weapons of choice.

I feared for Jasper. Why?

I was in the bathroom too long. Things have quieted down but I didn't dare move. I was obeying Jasper. A man. A man outside of my family and it was surprising to me.

Aside from that, because I didn't want to give it much thought, has Jasper considered the things I was thinking about when it came to the Chekovs? Did his dumb ass know dealing with them could mean the end of his family? Not even the gang, his family? When the Chekovs came, they came for everyone. Loved ones were a target of choice. It weakened you. They knew this. They loved to use it.

Had he considered this? If he did, why was he defending me? He told me he was falling for me but I couldn't admit that sort of truth to myself. I couldn't allow myself to care for him. No matter how much I wanted to. A man has never told me he cared for me, much less, told me he was falling for me before. It did things to me. I felt…hope. And I shouldn't. There was no hope for someone like me. I was the enforcer. I got things done. I ensured happiness. I didn't have it for myself. I never would.

Look at how fucked up this situation was. Jasper is the first guy to fall for me and I would have to kill him because he was the gangster who murdered my brother.

More questions rose but Jasper interrupted the train of thought. "Bella, open the door," he said or more like demanded.

I did what he asked. This was it. I wouldn't give up until I know certain things, like how much did Jasper and his father know. Did they know I was FBI? If so, why wasn't I dead yet? Did Jasper know how dangerous the Chekovs were? Did he know this could mean the end for him for attacking a member on my behalf?

As soon as he told me to take a seat on the bed, I started rattling off questions. I asked everything except if he knew I was FBI. Jasper listened intently. There was even small smiles on his face as I asked concernedly about the dangers of dealing with the Chekovs and what happened in his office and why did he come home in blood soaked clothes.

"Did you kill them all?"

"No," he answered. "I killed all the bodyguards. Sergei, Alexei's big brother, and I will be handling things from here."

He said no more on the subject when I tried to get him to, so I moved on. "Why does your dad hate me?"

He came to sit beside me. He caressed my face like I was the most precious thing. "Because of me."

"You?"

"Me." He didn't elaborate.

"Why are you defending me?" I really wanted him to say it. I wanted to hear it. I couldn't return the sentiment but I adored hearing it. It would be the last time in my life, I did.

Jasper looked at me like I had grown two heads. "You don't know why?" The incredulity in his tone told me I had just done something incredibly stupid as I watched him drop his hand and backed away from me. Whatever his reason was for defending me should apparently be evident to me.

It was but I was afraid to admit truth.

Jasper's answer was more like a question and a very good one.

"I did something wrong..." I started, hoping he would just say he cared and we could move on without getting too deep. He gave nothing so I went on, "and your dad is mad at me, so won't defending me get you I trouble? He probably wants to waste me." I ended with a somewhat nervous chuckle.

"He does." Jasper was as serious as a judge as he said it. No emotion. The little I had seen not a minute ago was long gone. Me and my big mouth caused that. Because of my talkativeness, and it wasn't like I was saying what Jasper wanted to hear, the guy who called me out of the bathroom, the caring guy who was falling for me, was gone. And left in his place was Jasper's monster; the one who was filled with rage, jealousy and vengeance. Which, at the moment, were directed at me.

Still, I persisted. "So didn't you let him?"

He stepped closer to me, towering over me. He perused me like I was some kind of an anomaly before he asked me a question instead of answering mine. "How do you feel about me, Bella?" Shit! What do I say to that? "How do you really feel about me?"

I couldn't tell him the truth. I couldn't tell him sometimes I wanted to kiss him, to make love to him, and others, I wanted to torture him until he took his last breath.

Somehow I think it would get me in even more trouble than I was already in.

"I think…"

He turned away with a sad look in his eyes. And I shut my mouth.

It was the first emotion I saw all night. And it told me I had fucked up. I hesitated for too long. First, I beat around the bush and then when he put me on the spot, I started off like I was about to come up with some bullshit.

That shit was far from what Jasper wanted. He wanted the truth. He wanted to know he wasn't in this alone. He wasn't doing what he was doing for nothing at all. He was looking for something in my eyes, and whatever it was, he didn't see it so he turned away.

It felt like a slap in the face, having his back to me. Then, without looking at me, he said something that both floored me and left me as confused as ever.

"I'll just add you to the list," he said. "I'll do it to keep you safe even if you don't love me like I love you." I wanted to answer but he didn't give me a chance, he went on. "Despite what he said about you coming for me, I couldn't help but fall for you, Bella. You were…" He laughed a little. "You _are_ as beautiful, both inside and out, as your picture."

That was it. I didn't get anything else. Jasper walked out of the room and didn't come back.

It has been a week without Jasper so much as stopping by to make sure I was okay. I didn't need babysitting but this was strange. While I got visits from Rosie and Emmett and even Michael, and I was told under no circumstance should I leave Jasper's penthouse, I missed him. Seeing everyone else, even Leah, and hearing from them he was working, sounded like an excuse to stay away from the woman who didn't love him back. He had put his heart on the line and I had stomp and spat on it.

It was how Jasper saw it. I was sure of it.

There were things I wanted to talk to him about. Like what did he mean I was as beautiful as some picture he had of me? When did he take the picture? Who knows? I wanted to see him. That was it. The way he had talked that night, a week ago, had unnerved me. I felt like he knew me. But how could it be? I had never met him until this assignment. What the hell did he know about me?

I felt suspicious. I felt paranoid. I had been coped up in this place for too long.

Rosie kept me updated on what was happening outside of these walls, but sometimes it wasn't enough. I wanted to see for myself. I was losing valuable information for my case against Jasper Whitlock.

Rosie had it covered. I loved my sister. She had filled Alice in on my disposition. Alice had been concerned I hadn't contacted her. Rosie said the house I was staying in was out. It was official. I was living with Jasper now. All my things and my bike were all in Jasper's building. She also said the Chekov deal was still going through. Things were running smoothly since the enforcers of both gangs, Jasper and Sergei Chekov, had completely taken the deal over. Rosie said it was almost complete. I told her I didn't like being out of the loop. I had nothing concrete on Jasper and linking him to this deal with those terrorists, and Rosie did something unprecedented. She offered to share her information with me. Enough for me to make my case. She didn't have to. It was rare when the offices shared such valuable information. I knew Rosie and Dad were in this to catch the Chekovs while I was after the Whitlock gang. The Whitlocks could be of value to the CIA for their connections and contacts but Jasper had violated when he killed our brother and I should be remembering that instead of worrying about his safety.

I loved my sister. And I was happy for the progress she had promised. Even though, Jasper should be seen as the enemy to me, a side of me worried for him. I liked that the deal was almost over. I didn't like him being around the likes of Sergei Chekov for too long. I knew all about Sergei. And I could say, unlike Jasper, he wouldn't have hesitated to kill me for attacking his brother.

Another important detail and Michael was the one who told me this about three nights ago, Vladimir Chekov and his father, Nicky Whitlock, had come to an understanding when it came to me. Alexei and I weren't allowed near each other though things had been resolved courtesy of Jasper. I don't know what he said or did but it worked.

However, Rosie told me Jasper didn't trust the Chekov's word so I was to be confined at his place under heavy guard until he said otherwise. Out of sight, out of mind I guess.

The only problem was, I didn't like him being out of my sight.

I understood now what he was asking that night. He was in love with me, and he wanted to know if I cared just as deeply for him.

I was dumb.

I should've said something.

It wasn't like it wouldn't be partly true. I felt a lot of things for Jasper that weren't all bad. I was just afraid to admit it.

If I did, it would become true and I couldn't afford to let the dream become a reality. I couldn't let myself believe it was possible to have the impossible.

A life.

Rosie left me with lunch from Jasper's restaurant. It was his favorite pasta dish. I was surprised I liked it too. My food was delivered mostly by Charlotte, Peter's wife. She was nice. She said Jasper and I were perfect for each other. She knew true love when she saw it.

It made me laugh when she said it. She wasn't deterred by my disbelief. She just laughed it off and said Jasper and I were fools. What were we waiting for?

Char didn't understand. True love? Between an FBI agent and a gangster? It couldn't be.

But Char had planted the idea and I partially liked it. It made me want to believe in it because I knew I was falling for him too. And I was conflicted because I would have to kill the only man I have ever loved after all he was doing for me.

Three days passed before Jasper finally graced me with his presence.

I was cleaning my gun when he walked into his bedroom after a week and three days away. He didn't look at me. He just walked over to his drawers and started going through them, pulling out clothes. I guess he just wanted those.

"You could say hi or fuck you," I commented. He still didn't look at me. "Hi, Jasper!" I said with fake enthusiasm. He continued to ignore me and pack a bag he had pulled out of his closet. "Okay, I like you too! There! Are you happy?"

He finally turned to me with the packed bag. He hoisted it over his shoulder and gave me an answer. "No, I'm not happy." With that, he left me again in shock and even more confusion.

Two weeks have passed since I have seen him. I have been held captive before and I wasn't this stir crazy. Horrible things happened to me during that time and I wasn't this broken.

I had nightmares of him dying and woke up screaming for him only to be met with the dark and nothing but the comforting hum of the air conditioning. I started to have panic attacks about sleeping alone. I put on a brave face for everyone, but once I was alone, I was nothing but a broken woman.

This was why I didn't do love. It left you with nothing when it went away.

Tonight would be different. I wouldn't worry about him because he was not worry about me. He was probably out with his gang, partying and fucking skanky bitches as entertainment for the Chekovs.

I laid down and drifted as soon as my head hit the pillow. I woke up once, worried about Jasper, but I dismissed it and threw myself back down on the bed.

He didn't want me anymore. Things would be easy from here on out. Things would be back to normal for me. With emotions involved, I could get things done a lot more smoothly. No hesitation.

I was drifting off again when I felt someone in the room. It was him. I knew it. I smelt the sweet scent of his cologne. I knew everything about him. How he stepped harder on his right foot than he did his left.

Still, I pretended to not know it was him and attacked the person when they got close to the bed.

From the fight, I learned Jasper could throw as hard a punch as he could take one. But I wasn't through. I kicked him in the stomach, causing him to double over. Then I let my knee connect with his nose, throwing him to the ground with a thud. I jumped on top of him and started raining down on him. "Talk to me! Talk to me! Talk to me, you fucking bastard!" I screamed until my punches turned into slaps and Jasper regained his strength and flipped us over. He stared down at me like he wanted to say something. He was fighting to hold back.

"Come on!" I urged him. "Say it! Fucking say it!"

He didn't. He kissed me and the floodgates open. We rolled on the floor, kissing and ripping each other's clothes off. I couldn't get him naked fast enough.

He grunted when I pushed my hand down the front of his pants, grasping his hard dick and squeezing.

"I fucking hate you!" I hissed into his ear, biting the shell of it...hard.

He yanked my hand out and sat up to take his own pants off.

I finished undressing and pulled him down on top of me.

It was feral. It was hot. And when he entered me, I screamed to high heaven. My body was so hungry for him, tears sprang from my eyes when he started to move.

I gripped his shoulders and demanded he fuck me.

He was more than happy to. Jasper pounded into me until I thought I was going to stop breathing.

His breath was harsh on my face and on my neck while he bit me. His grip was tight in my hair while he fucked me.

I wanted it all. I welcomed it all.

"Talk to me." I moaned. "God...talk to me. Tell me."

He looked at me. The glow of his eyes was beautiful as he said, "I love you."

Our bodies crashed before I could reply. We came together, grunting loudly and not giving a damn who heard.

But I couldn't say it. And when Jasper stared into my eyes, willing me to admit it. I couldn't. He kissed me sweetly and when we parted, I watched my Jasper fade into his monster before my eyes.

He pulled out of me roughly. He couldn't get away from me fast enough. I lay there on the floor, naked, in more ways than one, watching him as he got dressed silently and harshly. He looked at me one last time and then grabbed his bag and stomped out of the room.

The slamming of the door was a stinking dose of reality. I shattered with the sound of it. Then I turned on my side, curling into a ball, and cried.


	16. I Know

_**Jasper Whitlock, 2006**_

I didn't want to play games with her so I left. I didn't want to look in her big brown eyes and not tell her the truth so I left. When she attacked me and demanded I tell her the truth, I almost did, so I left. Staying away was a part of my way of protecting Bella. I feared…literally feared what would happen if I didn't do things this way.

Pop and I have been at odds since our fight. When he came into my place demanding to see Bella, wanting to punish her himself for fucking up, I told him no.

What did he expect? After showing him and the others I cared deeply for this broad, I was supposed to jump when he gave an order? I wasn't a fucking idiot and I wasn't about to act like one. I wouldn't actually prove to him I could be in love with Bella. It would get her killed. Being Pop's enforcer and deal closer was that mattered to him and nothing should affect it in his eyes.

I had no choice. I had to stand up for Bella.

"What do you mean, no?" He shouted at me when I told him I wouldn't bring Bella out. "Have you lost your fucking mind, Jasper? Give me the bitch!"

I punched him in the mouth. "What did I fucking say?" I yelled back. I was pissed off enough. Shit wasn't going my way. Everything was getting fucked and I didn't like when things didn't go my way. Bella was acting like she didn't feel the way I did and that shit wasn't true. I could see it in the depth of her eyes. She fucking cared about me. She thought I knew about her. I picked up her nervous vibe when I walked in on her and Rosalie talking earlier.

I knew the truth but not the way she thought I did. That would be a whole other bag of crap when she found out I had known about her all this time.

Now Pop was here, getting on my nerves. And I was especially pissed I didn't get to kill Aro tonight. Pop stopped me from blowing the son of a bitch's head off because he didn't understand. He didn't know. He didn't get I had more than one reason for wanting to kill Aro and telling Pop would do me no good. The stubborn bastard would think I was making the truth up to screw with him. If I told him all I knew about Aro Volturi, Pop would brand me for that shit. It was fucking unbelievable!

So when he called Bella a bitch, I decked him. No one talked about her like that. "I fucking said no, now get out!" I screamed at him and he looked ready to take me over his knee and give me an ass whooping of a lifetime or fucking kill me.

Instead, he punched me in the fucking mouth, drawing blood. The old fuck's fists were like iron. I checked my busted lip and then looked at the bastard, ready to rip him to fucking shreds. So we went after one another. The boys and Leah tried to stop us but fuck if we were listening.

Then it happened. The cause of our fight, Bella, came out of the bedroom and Pop spotted her. He stalked over to her, but when he moved to grab her, I stopped him. He wasn't too happy. "Are you actually defending this slut to me? What? Next you're going to tell me you're going to marry her? Get her out here!"

Marrying Bella had crossed my mind but it wasn't in the cards. I would be dead.

"What I want with her is none of your business," I told him. I didn't address the marrying part and Pop picked up on it. He stared at me hard with a look. It was curiosity. Something I hated from him. Nothing good could come from Pop being curious about my personal life. I tried to distract him. "I'm not in a good mood, old man, so I suggest you leave." After all the fighting, the smashing of my fucking living room, I was done.

Pop was still looking at me. Something softened in his hard features and he suddenly backed off and left.

He was up to something.

Fuck!

Another fucking thing on my plate.

Damn it!

When I went back to Bella, I said too much. I almost said James' name to her. Thank God I didn't. I also found out a lot. Bella wasn't even close to caring for me the way I loved her. This was still a game. So I told her a part of the truth. A decision I had made on the way home. I would protect her too. Even if she didn't love me like I loved her.

She was lying about caring about me and I couldn't take it. I was raw. I wasn't playing right now. I wasn't into the game. The world was collapsing around me. Everything was spiraling to hell before my appointed time.

So I left Bella in my penthouse with strict instructions to my guards. She wasn't to leave without my permission. She could have appointed visitors like Rosalie, Char, Peter, Michael, Emmett, and Leah. No one else. If she escaped, there would be hell to pay. If she was allowed to leave, there would be hell to pay. They better pray she killed them before I got my hands on them if she did anything I wasn't allowing.

This of course was all without her knowledge. I told Emmett to let Rosalie visit her. He was strangely agreeable. He said they needed each other.

I would have to talk to him.

In the time away from Bella, I got business done. I sped up my operations. My businesses aside from what I did with the family such as my restaurant and club, I ensured the money was going in the right places. The house I had bought with my inheritance from my mother and maternal grandparents, I made sure it was ready for me. I would need my hideaway soon. I had a new plan and it was in motion. I had to be careful though and tread softly or else this would blow up in my face.

As for my finances and investments, I was handling them carefully and secretively. The money would go exactly where I want it to in the event of my death or otherwise. The person wouldn't believe I had chosen them but I couldn't think of a better person. I could trust this person despite all that has happened between us.

With the Chekov deal, Vladimir and Pop claimed they were over the indiscretion Bella and Alexei had engaged in. They made it sound like Bella wanted to be attacked. Aro wasn't being blamed of course and it caused another fight between me and Pop after our meeting with the head of the Chekov. We waited until he left to attack one another because we had to show him a united front even if I wanted to put my old man in the fucking hospital.

Alexei wasn't happy about having his ass handed to him by a girl, but his brother, Sergei, was. It was a running joke for him. He teased his little brother mercilessly about having his ass handed to him by a girl.

I didn't like it. It put a bounty on Bella's head in Alexei's book. He would want to rape and kill her to redeem his name. So I kept her away.

The deal was coming to a close with myself and Sergei in charge of things. So far everything else has been running smoothly.

I knew it was a front. James had warned me. The Chekovs would disappear after the deal was done and they got their weapons and then they would reappear when we didn't expect it and decimate the Whitlocks. They would kill the leaders and take the weak ones under their wings. They would steal everything we have built.

Aro and I were at odds more than usual. Jane was more afraid of me now than she had ever been. I threatened her every time I laid eyes on her. I would kill her eventually. That was if I didn't allow Bella to have the glory. Aro was another story. He was mine. I wouldn't be satisfied until I killed the rat bastard.

There was a knock at the door and I told the person to come in. Peter walked in. He came in and closed the door behind him. "What's going on, Jasper?" he asked, taking a seat across from me. Nowadays, I stayed in my office. I even slept here. It was back to normal. Pristine and shit. You wouldn't believe a bunch of motherfuckers died in here the other day.

"Nothing. Just getting this deal done."

"At what cost?" he asked. He was going there. He wanted to talk about my love life. Peter could be an annoying fucker most days. I looked at him with a cross expression because I didn't have time for this. It didn't work, he just smiled and continued, "Whatever you're doing, it's not working. Bella was attacked. She defended herself, and the higher anarchy are okay with things so why are you acting like this?"

I stopped what I was doing to really look him in the eye when I said this. Peter was my best friend. He had been there for me for years. He deserved the truth. We were locked in my office and the bad boy was now sound-proof along with being checked for hacker surveillance every day by Emmett. I could show him the true me.

"I'm in love with her."

Peter smiled. "Well, it's about damn time you fell for someone and what a badass she is!"

"I can't have her."

He was confused. "Why the hell not?" Peter chuckled in disbelief.

"Because I'm going to die," I told him seriously.

"What?" He stopped smiling.

I glared at him now. I wanted him to understand because I wasn't going to repeat this shit. "When this deal is through, I'm going to die. I've got a list of people who could be the one to end me, but I know I'm heading out of this hellhole so why leave a girl behind?"

"Jasper, you're talking crazy." He tried to laugh it off.

I remain serious to show him I wasn't fucking around. "You remember James?"

He grew sober. James' name showed him I wasn't messing around. "Of course. Agent Swan of the FBI."

"Well, what I am about to say will never leave this room by you, will it?"

"Never. I'm not fucking crazy," Peter said without missing a beat. I didn't have to will him to do anything. Peter would never let me down. He wouldn't say shit. "Bella is James' sister."

His eyes grew wide. "Wait…does that mean she's…No, she isn't like him, right?" He wanted to know if Bella was FBI too.

"She is," I said bluntly, letting him know the truth. "She's on my list as one of the people who will possibly kill me."

He got up and began to pace the room. Then he came to stand in front of me. "What do you want me to do?" That was Peter. Always ready to solve shit.

"There is nothing you're going to do besides disappear."

He looked at me like I was fucked in the head. "Are you fucked in the head?" He expressed.

I ignored him. He needed to do this.

"I can't get you and Char killed." I told him. "All this shit…it's the end and it's going to end badly so I need you two to go. I don't want to know where. Just make the arrangements and leave as soon as possible. If you don't have enough money, let me know. Everything else…don't worry about it, I'll cover for you."

Peter was still looking at me like I was insane. "You must be crazy if you think I'm going to leave you in this shit!" he said. "You've got someone coming after you. Your girl is an undercover agent of the FBI and the Chekov deal is going to end in your or all our blood and you want me to abandon you?"

"Yes," I said calmly. "Today would be best."

"Jasper…"

I cut him off. "Don't think about it. Just do it. I'll miss you. You were a good friend. Char was…I love the firecracker. I'll really miss you guys. Now get outta here."

I was done talking. Peter stood there for a while in shock but he eventually left. Leah came in and sat down. "So Peter knows?"

"Peter knows."

I'm not leaving, you know?" she said and I laughed.

"I know. I guess if I'm going to hell, who better to go with than a good buddy?"

"You're damn right," Leah said with a smile.

I should feel bad for taking her with me. Edward will want to kill me himself when he found out she chose to die with me, but Leah was a stubborn woman. When she made a decision, that was it, there was no turning back.

Now back to today's priority, I have to find out what Pop knows. He has been too calm when it came to Bella since we had our meeting with Vladimir and then we fought over her one last time. Something was up.

I found out what it was later in the day. No one had to tell me. I didn't have to look into anything. When I got the call about Pop wanting to have dinner at my place, I knew it. Michael wasn't privileged to this. He made the call but he didn't know what Pop was up to. I did. And this dinner meant only one thing.

He knew Bella was FBI. Fucking Banner had rolled over on her now. He was coming for her.

I arrived home. Bella was in the living room. She was reading a book and a guard was unconscious on the floor.

I smiled and walked over to the guy. He had a busted head. Leah chuckled and checked his pulse. She signaled he was alive and then got up, shaking her head at Bella who remained on the couch, engrossed in her book like nothing was wrong.

"Why did you do this?"

She looked at me like she wanted to rip me to pieces, but there was insanity to it. I should say she looked like she wanted to rip me to pieces while smiling like a Cheshire cat. Then she said innocently, "He wouldn't let me leave."

"So you knocked him out?"

"You're lucky I didn't kill him."

God she was the perfect woman for me. "I need you to get dressed. We're having guests over for dinner."

"There's a we?"

"I'll ignore that," I said. "There is a dress for you on the bed."

I left her without another word. If I stayed, I would say something I would regret and involuntarily give myself away.

When we sat down for dinner, I knew it was fucked up. Pop was on the hunt. I could fucking feel it. He watched Bella like a hawk through the courses of meal we had. Nina, my ex-bedmate, was his date and he was using her to make Bella feel like crap. He thought Bella was vain. She saw through him. But Nina was too high and mighty to figure out when to shut the fuck up. She irked Bella. I had to give her that. But fucking around with Bella was like signing your death sentence. And Nina was looking to get hurt.

As sat there, over dessert, Nina kept looking at Bella with scorn. Finally, Bella said something about it and the attitude in her voice and action made me proud.

"Something wrong with your eyes?" Bella asked her.

Nina smiled. "No, just wondering why trash is at the table."

Bella smiled. It was rueful and deadly. "You like talking, huh?" she said to Nina and Nina rolled her eyes at her. "I like that," Bella went on while Pop listened and watched her intently.

"Why do you like it?" he asked Bella.

She took a sip of her wine then answered, "It'll make it easier on my conscience when I cut out her tongue."

No one said a thing and I wanted to kiss the hell out of Bella. She was perfect. I really loved this woman!

Pop laughed and the shit actually reached his eyes. He was amused by Bella. "I can see why he likes you, Bella."

"Who?"

She thought she was cute. Pop had something up his sleeve and the bastard was waiting on the right time to share it. This didn't sit well with me and all I wanted to do was, grab Bella and run. Everything in me was telling me to but I sat still.

"You know who," Pop said.

Bella said nothing and Nina took the opportunity to turn her attention to me though it really hadn't been off of me since she walked into the room. Why did Pop have to take her here for this? What was he trying to do?

"So, Jasper, I haven't heard from you in a while," she said. "Where have you been?"

Bella answered for me. "Fucking me."

God, I loved this woman. She was a pot of fucking gold. And I was the luckiest fucker on the planet despite the shit I was in.

Pop laughed again. He was too fucking happy for this to end well.

"What's the matter with you?" I asked him.

Bringing his laughter to a light chuckle, he said, "I admire how far the FBI will go nowadays."

I knew it. Now I only had two choices. Play dumb or admit I knew the truth all along and get killed right at my dinner table.

I was going with the former. "What the fuck are you talking about?" I let out a disbelieving chuckle to add effect. "Bella's FBI?"

She looked at me and smiled, taking a sip of her wine. She was unfazed my lack of intelligence and my father's declaration.

What was she doing? Didn't she know if she continued, he would kill her right here at the table? I had to get her to stop. I had to gain control over this situation so it would end my way.

"Well, I guess I can finally breathe a sigh of relief," she said.

I looked at her dumbly and Pop looked like he believed me. He looked satisfied. He thought he was revealing something to my stupid ass.

"You knew that I knew?" Pop asked her.

Bella eased back in her chair with her glass of wine. She drank most of it and then smiled at Pop. "I figured something was up. You would want to know why I did what I did and you'd start looking for ways to get rid of me. My only problem is, who told you?"

"You're not privileged to ask," Pop said pointedly.

She nodded. "Figures."

"So you're the other agent's sister?" Pop said.

"Yeah," Bella answered.

My heart was in my mouth. How was I going to do this? How was I going to get her out?

"Why was he here?" he asked her.

"To gather information and get enough dirt to take you and your assholes down," Bella replied.

"I didn't give the order to kill him," Pop told her. This was a shock to me. I thought he did. "Aro thought it was wise to get rid of him." He looked at Aro as the bastard stepped into the room while Pop said this. "I thought the death of an uncorrupted FBI agent would draw attention I didn't need. But what's done is done."

I cut in. "You're telling me this asshole." I pointed at Aro. "Put us in this situation. He carried out an order on his own?"

"At least I wasn't fucking the enemy like the idiot you are," Aro said. I jumped across the table and punched him in the face. I was on top of him in a second with my gun in his mouth, ready to pull the trigger.

I heard a gun cock and knew it wasn't mine. "Let go and get off of him, Jasper. He isn't the enemy here. She is."

I got up but I didn't take my gun off of Aro. Pop's gun was at Bella's head and her eyes were wide open, calm and relaxed as she waited for him to fire. I had to diffuse the situation.

I pulled away from Aro as much as it pained me to. I focused on Pop. "She is the enemy, but she is not yours to punish. She's mine. She invaded my turf with her shit and I have to be the one to punish her." I stepped closer to them, coming to stand behind Bella with my hand around the back of her throat. I squeezed until she let out a small sound. She wouldn't give in to me or anyone. She would die with her dignity. Her stubbornness and fierceness was exactly what I didn't need right now.

"Yours?" Pop scoffed.

"Yes. Mine."

I hit her over the head, knocking her out.

Watching Garrett dragged Bella out of the room so he could take her downstairs, was making me mad. I wanted to shoot him in the foot for enjoying the shit way too much, but I was in no position to say anything about it yet. I had to play it like this. I was dumb. I didn't know. Bella was going to kick my ass when she realized what I did, but I would rather have her screaming at me or hitting me more than to bury her.

Michael was here. He couldn't believe Bella was FBI. I watched him follow Garrett out of the penthouse with her unconscious body over his shoulder. I told Garrett for everyone to hear, to one of my warehouses. The special one I used to torture and kill motherfuckers who crossed me. I wanted them to feel like it wouldn't be a certainty for Bella to come back alive.

In order to make it believable, I would have to do some things I was going to hate myself for and I hope she will understand in the end.

This was the only way I could get her out of this. I just prayed she was as good as James had boasted.

I changed out of my suit, throwing on jeans, a t-shirt and my black trench coat. I had my guns and my knives. I walked out of my bedroom, heading out the door. I couldn't stay in the place with Pop and fucking Aro, who I couldn't riddle with bullets and Nina who was looking like someone told her she had just won the lottery.

I didn't even look her way as I headed for the door. Bella was going to be pissed when she woke up and now that she didn't have to hold back, guys were going to die. I had to get to the warehouse I sent them as soon as possible.

"Banner told me this morning," Pop said, walking in line with me as I headed out. Leah was behind me. Pop thought he was telling me something I didn't already surmised Banner. I had to get rid of him. That fucking parasite was stitching on the last person. He thought he was getting closer to making Director. He was getting closer to his grave. He was a cold son of a bitch who had been selling out agents for years. There were things I had to tell Bella. So much she wasn't going to believe.

The truth was going to hurt.

Especially her deepest one. The one she wouldn't believe I knew.

"I didn't want to hurt you like this." Pop told me as he climbed on the elevator with me and Leah. "It's obvious you feel something for the broad but she's a fucking spy, you've got to end her."

"I'll do things my way when it comes to…" I wanted him to say it.

"Her name is Bella Swan. She has a father and sister in the CIA."

Fucking Banner!

"We know who they are?"

"It's Rosalie."

"Shit!" I meant that shit in more ways than one. Everything was crumbling fast.

"Her father's name is Charles Swan."

"Where's Rosalie?"

"When I told Emmett, he said he would handle it." Pop told me. "I wasn't even too far from the door when I heard shots go off."

Shit! Emmett killed Rosalie? What the fuck was I going to tell Bella? She would want to kill Emmett and I couldn't let her.

"Jasper, what are you going to do?" Pop asked me.

I sighed and then smiled a deadly smile. "I'm going to introduce her to the real me."


	17. Bella's Monster

_**Agent Bella Swan**_

When Nicky Whitlock said I was FBI, I honestly thought this is it. I wasn't regretful of any action I had taken up until that point. I wasn't remorseful for whoever I had wronged in the past up until that moment, I was fucking pissed off I wouldn't get to exact justice for Jamie because I thought the old bastard would have killed me right then and there, but again, Jasper stepped in. And when he had knocked me out, I was pissed at him for saving me. I don't know why I was. I guess I was fucked up like that. I was mad at the guy who supposedly loved me. The guy I cared very much about.

There. I admit it. I cared for Jasper. It was the most fucked up thing I would ever do, but I cared for my brother's killer.

There was something about Jasper. Something I understood and was grateful for. We shared a kindred spirit. And we were both confused fucks. He shouldn't care for me though. He was wrong to. He should want to kill me.

I shouldn't care about him. He killed Jamie. I should have punished him for his crime against my family by now, but here I was, pretending to be unconscious because Jasper hadn't really hit me that hard, another thing I should want to discuss with him, on my way to his warehouse. I could hear everything.

Why did Jasper trust me to stay still while they spoke around me? Why was he helping me? Was it me he was helping or himself? But why would he need any help? What did he have to lose? I was the one who would be tortured and killed here.

Wasn't I?

What was going on?

I shouldn't care about it right now. In fact, I didn't. I wasn't going down without a fight. Whatever game Jasper was playing, this was as far as I went with it. I was bound and gagged in the trunk of a car after Garrett proudly carried me downstairs and had thrown me in said trunk. From how rough he was with me supposedly unconscious body, I could tell the fucker was happy I was a traitor. Again, I think he was harboring feelings for Jasper. That asshole was in love with my man and I was going to fuck him up for it. I didn't share.

I wanted to roll my eyes at myself. I was in a trunk heading to my death and here I was thinking about fucking Garrett up for wanting Jasper. I couldn't even prove he was gay. I just liked fucking with him because he hated my guts. If I were going to be around longer I would have had fun fucking with him every chance I got.

Well this was good. I was lying in a trunk making jokes instead of feeling sorry for myself. At least I was in high spirits. Maybe it was the hell I was about to unleash on these unsuspecting motherfuckers that filled me with glee. If they thought I was going quietly into the night, they could go fuck themselves. This wasn't my first rodeo. And this was going to end badly for them.

I could hear them talking about what they wanted to do to me before Jasper got to the warehouse. How they were going to teach the FBI bitch a lesson. Garrett was silent. Then again, the fucker lived in his head so he was probably planning on chopping me up and having me for breakfast.

Well, they all could fuck off. I would be out of here as soon as they opened the trunk.

The car came to a stop and I readied myself to attack these fucks since the idiots hadn't tied my feet, when one of the goon's comments stopped everything in me. What he said couldn't be true. He was mistaken. It was not true.

He was talking to another one. I didn't care who it was. They would be dead soon. I just had to hear more first. Garrett instructed them to take me into the warehouse while the sons of bitches continued talking.

"Didn't you hear?" One said to the other.

"What?" the other one asked.

"Well, FBI wasn't the only ones. The other one, Emmett's bitch, she was one of 'em too." The soon to be dead idiot told the other.

"What do you mean?"

"Rosalie was CIA!"

"What?"

"Yeah!" The first idiot proclaimed.

"Well, where is she? We could get two for one!" the second idiot said.

"We could've," the first fool laughed. "Since word has it they were sisters. The FBI punk that got killed. James something. They're his sisters!"

"How the fuck did the bosses find out?" Second idiot asked. And I perked up. Yes, how did they find out?

"The same way they found out about the first guy. The FBI boss man sold out his agents." First dead idiot told the second.

We were now in the warehouse heading to wherever Jasper took his victims. "Was this where James had died?" I wondered briefly before dismissing it. Leaving my sadness behind for anger. I was ticked off because I now know who sold us out.

Of course they would find out about me from Banner; that two faced son of a bitch. I was going to have him for breakfast. When I got my hands on the motherfucker he was going to beg for his life, a life he stole from my brother and I don't know how many other agents and civilians the lying sack of shit had sold out to the mob, and then I was going to kill him.

Who was I kidding? I should know this. Of course the order had to come from high up. Of course Jasper's family had government officials in their back pockets. It was how they got away with some much over the years. There was fucking history of this for Christ sake! Of Government officials being in bed with gangsters and killers for information and connections.

I understood them finding out about Jamie and me, but what about Dad and Rosie? How did they find out about Rosie? The CIA was more secure than us over at the FBI. Who sold them out?

All of that was going through my head while I quickly assessed how to get rid of these two when the first idiot's comment stopped me. "So we only have this one to play with."

"Why?" Second fool asked.

"Emmett ended the bitch. Yeah, he killed Rosalie."

I heard nothing else. Everything stopped, included the goons carrying me because I flipped off the first one's shoulder and before the second could react, I broke his neck. The first was too baffled to reach for his gun so I dropped him and did it for him, blowing his fucking brains out with it. Others heard the shots and came running. I fired a few shots. All head shots, killing them. I killed as many as I could. I had to hand it to Jasper, he had a lot of security for me to go through. The bullets ran out so I worked on getting my hands free.

That was successful and in time for one of the punks to sneak up on me. It was an old fuck too. He was rattling some shit off at me, but I hardly heard a thing. The first two goons I had killed words were still in my head.

My sister was dead.

Rosie was dead.

Emmett had killed her.

Rosie was dead.

My sister was dead.

It was going off in my head like Morse code while I killed the fuck in front of me, slicing through him with his own knife. I took his nine millimeter and his pump rifle. More goons were called in. It was like a fucking army and I would slice and shoot my way through them all to get to Emmett. I was going to end him for what he did to my Rosie.

My sister was gone. My brother was gone. It was ending. My family was dying around me.

I was lying in wait while goons screamed at me and wasted their bullets by firing off warning shots hoping to scare the little girl hiding from them. They were hoping I would be as dumb as them and come out. So they could what? Rape me and kill me? I wanted to laugh but it would give away my location. And I knew Garrett was looking. He was the best of them and it would be a joy to take him down before I went and killed the Whitlocks and Emmett for taking my family from me.

Fuck what I feel. Fuck how much I cared about Jasper. This was war.

I could feel the blood pumping. I could feel the sadistic side taking over and I welcomed it.

She had seen it back then. And now as I remembered her, I realized Banner knew what would go down on that assignment and he was probably hoping I had died then. But I didn't. I came back. She had known. It was why she smiled and waited until I killed them all before she helped me over the border and into my father's arms. I admired her now. I admired her words. How she had coached me into letting my monster go free. She was right. Our monsters need to feed and I had been starving mine since I started this case.

Well no more.

I heard the screeching of tires and slamming of doors and I smiled. Guess there was more for me to kill. I heard more warning shots and I took a deep breath before flying from my hiding spot in a stealth rage. I got through a few goons, killing them with either gunshots or my stolen knife. I ran out of bullets so it was down to my knife and their own guns.

By the time they became aware of me and started to panic, it was too late. I was already on them and they were already dead.

I spotted Garrett and I didn't want one idiot in our way. He spotted me too and I was almost shot when he popped off a few rounds at me. I liked his style.

An idiot forced me out in the open. "Come here, bitch!" The guy screamed at me while he slashed at me with his blade. "I'm going to cut you open!" He threatened. I smiled at him. Another one was trying to sneak up on me while another was coming at me from the right.

I liked my odds. They looked great.

I got to Knife wielder because the motherfucker wasn't that good. I used his own blade to kill him then threw it into the guy that was trying to sneak up on me. Guy on the right took out his gun shakily and started to fire. I used dead knife wielder as a shield until the bullets were gone then I got up and went to him and before he could scream or say a word, I cut his throat with the knife I had in my back pocket.

Garrett came out of nowhere, or if I was being truthfully, I saw him coming from the left. His years with Whitlock probably left him sloppy in the sneaking up department. I knew he was coming. I have been looking forward to it and I was glad he chose hand to hand combat and a knife fight for this challenge cause I was going to enjoy this.

Everybody else was dead. It was just him and me.

"Hi, bitch," I said with a crazed grin.

"You're dead." Garrett told me.

I wanted to believe his words and I should because Garrett was a killer and he was damn good at what he did. It was his job to make you disappear in whatever way he saw fit. When he was in the army, he was just as much a killer as he was now. I know. I checked him out. Highly classified file but I got through anyways. From his file, I learned Garrett was only called in on special assignments when there was someone they couldn't get to and wanted dead. He touched the untouchables. I was dealing with a dangerous guy and I was going to kill him. His end would be now. All the fights and the 'cleaning' he had done for the Whitlocks, he had never crossed paths with a crazy bitch like me.

I would his end.

We had nothing else to say to each other. We got out our knives while circling each other and then we went to work. Garrett was as good as it was claimed. He came at me with all he had. I wasn't an idiot though. And even though he got a few cuts in, I wouldn't be taken down that easy.

We lost our knives after cutting up each other good and then it was down to our fists. I clocked him in the jaw and he dislocated my bad shoulder. I roundhouse kicked him, sending him flying back, giving myself enough time to ram my shoulder into a wall, knocking that shit back in place. There was no pain. That shit was left for later. I ducked, landing in a split, when Garrett's foot came after my head. I punched the son of a bitch in the balls, it was a cheap shot but I loved the hallowing sound he made. I got out of the split and pushed my body up, kicking the bastard in the face with both feet when he came at me and then flipped over to land on my feet, next to my knife. I grabbed it up and he found his.

We said nothing. We waited on each other to catch our breaths. And then we advanced. We sliced at one another, missing vital parts and when that wasn't working we cheated with kicks and punches. Garrett was strong and had a hundred pounds over me. We lost our knives again. We dropped one another and then got up. I heard another vehicle pull up. Doors slammed and footsteps were heading for us, but Garrett and I didn't stop. He kicked me in the chest and I fell hard.

Fuck!

I got up quick and dropped him, jumping on top of him like a wild animal and started choking him. He was losing it. He tried to get out by hitting me in my sides. He dug into my cuts while someone screamed at us. Warning shots went off and Garrett and I didn't stop. He got me off of him and jumped on top of me. Someone was screaming for us to stop. Another said to let us keep going. Garrett and I didn't care. The animals in us were calling for blood. Each other's. I got him off of me and didn't stop rolling him around in a wrestling move my brother taught me until I popped his shoulder out of place then got on top of him and started slamming his head into the concrete. He was losing consciousness.

I was winning and I loved the blood splatter on the wet concrete. I loved how red it looked. I kept slamming his head down until many arms pulled me off of him. I was screaming, growling, raging and then I saw him. He was standing in front of me with shock, awe, and pride riddled in his eyes.

Why pride? What the fuck was he proud of? I spat his face. I screamed and growled at him while he told them to take me into a room and chain me up. Fuck him. Fuck him for taking my victory. I hope Garrett was dead but it burned me to the core I wouldn't be there to see the light leave the motherfucker's eyes.

I would be there to see it leave Jasper's. And I suppose it was a comforting thought. "I wouldn't miss it for the world," I thought as I was left chained to a steel chair in the middle of an empty room with a smile on my face while the blood of my enemies dripped off of me.

What next? Who else wanted a shot at the title? Cause I was going to kill them all.


	18. Swan Meet Whitlock

_**Jasper 2006**_

The chatter in the truck was loud but I heard nothing. I was too focused on Bella and how I was going to get her out of this shit as we made our way to the warehouse. Pop, Aro and Michael were with me. Leah was driving and she was careful not to make eye contact with me. With them around, we could give away nothing. The men around us were to know nothing. And they wouldn't unless it was necessary.

Now how to play this? I could act as if I wanted to use her for information, but it would have to go deeper than a lackey. I would have to sell Bella's case very carefully to Pop. Make him start to see the possibility of using her as an asset.

Someone as important as Edward was to us.

My problem was, would she do it? Could Bella play the stitch in order to stay alive? Would she keep her mouth shut long enough for me to make this work?

I knew my father. He loved the knowledge. He liked knowing shit before others did. Bella coming in threw him off balance and he'd have to right that wrong. There could be no more slip ups. Seeing as her brother and her happened under my watch, I was in the shit and would have to prove myself more than anyone else to get out of this clusterfuck.

I had to make it work. I had to sell Bella's value to him. I had to make him want to keep her and throw Banner out. We had other higher ups under our command. I have to make Banner a liability in order to save Bella. All I had to do was get Pop to accept my proposal.

It could work. I would make it work since I was going to kill Banner anyways.

My only problem now was Bella. Fuck wondering if she would play along with whatever I brought to the table. I knew her. I had been studying her before I met her. She was a hothead. She would say shit that would fuck things up. Just thinking about her now and what she could have possibly done at the warehouse so far gave me a fucking migraine. I knew I had some mess waiting for me there. I could feel that shit in my bones. I was sure she was there telling everybody off and pissing off Garrett. He knew he shouldn't touch her, but with Bella's smart mouth firing off, I don't know how long he would obey the command.

Michael turned and looked at me in the backseat. He wanted to say something. I knew this because my brother kept fidgeting. "Just fucking say it," I said to him.

He nodded and smiled like he had been waiting on me to say that shit and then he started. "I just can't believe it, you know," Michael said. "She was so good. They trained them like that?"

"I have a feeling it's not typical training. Bella's just always been this manipulative," I said with a smirk. "Now look where it's gotten her?"

Michael laughed. "You're fucking pissed, aren't you?"

"What makes you think that?" I smiled. I was fucking pissed. He had no idea all the shit I was putting myself through for him, Pop, Bella and others.

"Cause you're calm and smiling like you didn't just find out your woman is a fucking FBI bitch," he stated. I wanted to smack him for calling Bella a bitch but I refrained. Aro was breathing down my neck…literally. The motherfucker was sitting behind me and the fact that he was accompanying us to the warehouse proved to make this show harder to sell. He would be watching my every move, waiting on me to slip up.

"Why do you think Banner waited so long to tell us he had sent another agent in?" Michael asked.

I didn't hesitate. My plan started now. I wanted Pop to doubt Banner. Especially since Banner was brought into our fold by Aro. "Because that motherfucker Banner wants this case for his promotion," I said calmly. "He's coming after us. The other Swan wasn't getting what he wanted fast enough so he snitched. Now he sends the sister in to get close to us through me."

"Knew you wouldn't resist the pussy apparently," Aro added and I wanted to blow his brains out. I would but not yet. The fucker wouldn't mess this up for me and Bella. So I ignored him and answered my brother, who was laughing his ass off at what Aro just said.

"What's not to like?" I shrugged then smirked. "She was damn good. I might say the best I ever fucked. Too bad she's a traitor. I would've kept that ass around."

"She was hot," Michael said with a grin.

I hated how he was speaking of Bella in the past tense. When we talked like that, the person was already dead to us. I couldn't have it. This was one woman I would fight for.

Pop became my salvation. "So Banner wants to betray us after all I've done for his ass? The easy assignments his division has completed."

"Sure you're not grasping at straws to save your bitch, baby blue?" Aro sneered in my ear.

I turned to him, looking the asshole dead in the eye. "No."

Michael laughed like the naïve boy he was, easing some of the tension. Pop was silent. He looked like he was deep in thought. Good. I had him right where I wanted him.

Aro was the thorn in my side though. He was going to second guess everything I said or did.

Michael, oblivious to the crap going through my mind, continued talking. Pop spoke up, posing a relevant question I was more than happy to answer since it played right into my hands. "Edward said the Swans were the best. When James died, everyone swore up and down they'd get the bastards who did it, but apparently, his little sister was the bravest among them. She took the mission and weaseled her way into our lives. Now my question is, why did Banner let her since she was one of the best? Wasn't he afraid to lose one of his top agents?"

I smiled before answering. "What's Banner's weakness, Pop?"

He thought for a second and then smirked. "Sweet, young things."

"Exactly. Young pussy. He has gotten to most of the females who work under him. He's either had them himself, or pimped them out to his pals in the bureau with the promise of promotion. Remember those incidents of him fucking fifteen year olds that we had to cover up?"

He looked like he had a fucking epiphany. "Wait! He wanted her?"

"And the brother wouldn't let it happen." At least I could use something James himself told me. How he threw Banner off his sister one night when she was a young agent and the bastard held her down in his office. It made my blood boil when I pictured that old freak with his hands on a young Bella. It pained me now as much as it did when James told me. Back then, I didn't even care about her the way I do now and I wanted to rip Banner's nuts off for touching her. What I liked about what James had said was Banner thought James was saving his little sister from him, but in actuality, James was saving Bella from a murder rap. He said if he had gotten there any later than he did, who knows what Bella would have done to him. I had asked if his sister was some sort of secret psycho. It should have worried me when he didn't answer for a while and when he finally did, he just said, she could take care of herself better than anyone he knows.

It was cryptic but it made my dick hard to think the girl I was crushing on was a fucking terminator!

"How do you know all this?" Pop asked me. The fucker jarred me from a good thought too. I was wondering what it would be like to fuck Bella when she was in bitch terminator mode. But I had to pay attention because Pop was suspicious of me and I had to qualm that shit. I guess I wouldn't respect him if he wasn't suspicious because I knew my dad wasn't a pussy, but I wasn't exactly going to tell him the truth. He would sooner shoot than believe me.

"My source gained a lot of access when Banner snitched on his agent." I referred to Bella as the agent because it made the old man feel like I was detaching myself from any association with her. "My source got a good chance to do a lot of digging they weren't able to do."

It was bullshit but Pop knew I liked to have all the facts before acting on anything so he would trust the shit I just told him and wouldn't ask twice.

I continued to drive my point home. "We have to get rid of Banner. These Swans were the best but he fucking hated them. We can't deal with a fucker like that anymore. He's going to sell us out anyways. He's probably waiting on us to kill Agent Swan and dump her body somewhere then he'll give a statement calling her actions heroic and then swear to the other agents the Swans would be avenged."

"Then he'll come after us," my brother concluded.

"Exactly. He'll be called heroic and hardworking. An FBI agent who wouldn't rest until we were brought to justice for our many crimes."

I painted the picture for them and left it hanging there. Let the doubt in Banner begin. I was taking that bastard down with me for what he had done to Bella. He tried to assault my woman and that didn't work he sent her on a dangerous mission to infiltrate a Mexican cartel, knowing the bastard she was supposed get close to was a sadistic freak who would do unspeakable things to Bella if he found out who she was.

And when he miraculously did, thanks to Banner's informant telling the bastard, Bella was punished. Something James had said she has never retold.

It was the Cortez cartel, naming Carmen Cortez, a good friend of mine and former lover, who came to Bella's rescue.

James said Bella was dropped off at the border where their father, Charlie Swan, picked her up after Banner had left her for dead. James said she was changed. Something bad had happened to his sister.

I wanted to know what it was and if I had to, I would contact Carmen myself to find out.

"Where are you, son?" Pop asked as we pulled to a stop in front of the warehouse.

Looking through the windshield, I ignored Pop and cursed, making everyone look outside of the truck we were in.

"Fuck!" Michael exclaimed.

Fuck indeed. There were dead bodies littering the ground. Most of them were Aro's lackeys. I knew what I was doing sending them with Bella it would seem. Most of these fuckers didn't trust me and preferred Aro's crazed leadership. I wanted to smile but I pushed it way down. I knew she would do something, it was just the magnitude that surprised me. What the fuck ticked her off? Had they tried something? If they had, I was going to have Garrett's head for it. He was supposed to be with her. He wasn't supposed to leave her side until I got her. She was mine to punish for show.

I got out of the truck, gun in hand. Leah walked ahead of me, checking for pulses on some of the guys. She looked at me and shook her head no. Damn! Bella had been busy.

We headed into the warehouse just as another vehicle pulled up with Pop's guards. They got out and ran over, covering us as we stepped further into the place. More bodies. Some of them were my guys too. I knew these ones. They were motherfuckers who knew what they were doing and still they hadn't been much of a match for Bella.

The further we walked, the more we could hear the sounds of fighting.

What we saw when we got to the middle of the place made me feel both pride and anger.

These two just had to do this. We all had our guns cocked, but I told everyone to keep their guns in check. If one motherfucker fired at my girl I was going to rip his spine out.

A crazed looking Bella, almost covered in blood, was fighting an equally bloody Garrett. I screamed at them to stop. They didn't hear or chose to ignore me which royally pissed me off. I signaled Michael and Leah to fire warning shots. But it didn't stop them.

These two didn't give a shit about us. They were literally after each other's throats.

"Fucking stop!" I shouted at them. Fuck if they did. I threw my hands up in frustration. My hothead girlfriend was trying to get herself killed before I could save her stubborn ass. I thought of her as mine despite the crap she was trying to make herself believe. I knew the truth. She cared about as much as I cared about her. And I was going to get her out. Some had to save her even from her own fucking self.

"Let them keep going," Aro said cheerily and I wanted to kill him for saying it. "I want to see what Jasper's bitch can do." I found myself advancing on him. Apparently me shooting him in the arm and giving a reason to have a bandage on his fucking cheek after I promised I would shoot him in the head next time after he tried to set up my girl to be raped by Alexei Chekov, he hadn't learned a lesson.

Pop stepped in front of me with a warning look on his face, telling me to stop. I looked at him and scoffed but otherwise backed off. He was getting close to being left behind in this shit. Wasn't he the one who told me he didn't fully trust anyone? I wondered if he remembered that. Shouldn't Aro be a part of the 'anyone' quota? It wasn't like he was family. He wasn't blood. He was just a friend. And one who would bring Pop down to his knees if I let him.

I smiled at Aro in warning. I would allow the bastard this momentary victory. But a day was coming when I would exact my revenge. It was coming very soon.

I stepped away from them, focusing on Garrett and Bella. I had to step in before someone won. "Hey! Fucking stop it!" I screamed at Bella and Garrett. Nothing. They just went on like I hadn't spoken until Bella got the upper hand.

I had to admit, my girl was fucking incredible. She singled handed killed a dozen or so men and now she was fighting one of my best mercenaries and winning. I should have been scared for her, but I wasn't. I was standing here hoping she could handle me since I was far worse than Garrett.

Simon and a few others asked me what they should do as we watched Bella climb on top of Garrett and started pounding his head on the concrete. I ordered them to get her off of Garrett before she bashed his brain in.

She screamed and growled like a fucking animal as they dragged her off of him. I went and stood in front of her and when I looked into her almost black eyes, I could see she was here yet she wasn't. This wasn't the girl who smiled and laughed with me. She wasn't the tease I couldn't be without. This was an entirely different person. Someone sinister. A monster. When she spit in my face, I could hear Aro laughing. He loved the show. I ignored him and ordered them to chain her up in the room I would be using.

In there, Bella would meet what my enemies saw before they died. She would see the monster I was. If she wanted to play tough guy, fine, I could play the game real fucking well. I just had different rules to my game.

I didn't have to touch her to torture her.

Pop and everyone else wanted to be in the room with me and Bella, but I told them no. I told Pop he needed to calm the guys down since they were out for blood and wanted a piece of Bella for killing their friends.

They wouldn't survive if I unleashed her.

Pop agreed when I pointed this out to him.

I walked into the room with Leah and Simon. Some other guys would take Garrett to Carlisle to get patched up. My uncle was in town on my command. I had flown him secretly. I was going to need him.

I hoped Garrett made it. I wasn't sure if he would but I hoped.

Anyone who stayed behind would watch my interrogation of the FBI bitch on the CCTV in my office. It was going to be quite a show.

Bella didn't speak when I walked into the room but she watched my every move with a deranged, happy look on her face. I was pissed about what she had done to Garrett and how fucking hard she was making this for me.

I drew the chair loudly across the floor, and slammed it down in front of her, taking a seat. I put my gun in its holster and she licked her lips.

I opened my mouth to speak, but she beat me to it. "I like your gun."

I looked down at it and then back at her. "Come and get it," I goaded her with an equally troubling grin.

She snapped her body forward like a feral cat and then slammed back against her chair. She tried to reach forward in a failed attempt to free her hands and I heard Simon chuckle. Leah said nothing. I wasn't sure if it was because of what I would have to do to Bella to make this believable or she was just staying alert in case Bella miraculously escaped her binds.

"So Agent Swan…" I started and she laughed.

"So criminal…" She concluded with a smile. "Are we being formal now, Jasper? After you've fucked me six ways to Sunday and liked it?"

She was goading me. I liked it. I could respect it. "Are you trying to impress daddy so he'll love you more than his boyfriend, Volturi?"

My eyes grew dark and she laughed. "Oh! You are! Poor baby. He'll never love you as much as Aro." She gave me what I wanted and I reached quickly and slapped her across the face. The sound of it echoed off the walls. Bella stayed silent and when I moved to speak, she interrupted again. "You're going to regret it."

"Regret what?" I asked.

"Every time you hit me, bitch, I'm going to make you pay. Slaps, punches, and kicks aren't free, punk. They come with a very high price tag, motherfucker."

It was so fucking deranged when she spoke and then laughed loudly. Yet, I knew it was a threat to be taken seriously.

"So what's your mission, Agent Swan?"

"To infiltrate, punk bitch."

I ignored the insult. "That's it?"

She said nothing.

"Why else are you here? What do you know?"

She pretended to think and after licking her lips, she said, "I know Garrett is in love with you and he hates me for fucking you."

"That's not true," I said calmly. I see what she was doing. She was good. It was a great cover. Say enough to piss me off. Act crazy to distract me. It was brilliance. But there had to be a driving force. What had she learned since she left my place? I knew I was taking a risk when I didn't knock her out as I should have. I knew she was conscious enough to know what was happening. I wasn't planning on her killing everyone by the time I got here, but moving on, what happened between the penthouse and the drive over here to tick her off this much? To turn her into this monster sitting in front of me?

"Oh really?" She looked quizzical. "I think it's true. He wants to give it to you bad. He wants to get up in that ass. He wants to fuck you like there is no tomorrow."

She wanted me angry. So I smiled at her, keeping my cool. I knew the truth. My friend was straight and not the least bit interested in me. She was barking up the wrong tree, but I loved her attempt.

We sat silently for a while. Well, I was silent and Bella was whistling. Then I began to ask questions making Bella laugh in my face. I slapped her across the face harder and harder each time she refused to answer and she would count every slap aloud and told me to do it again while calling me 'daddy' and licking her lips.

I got up and started to pace. Michael came into the room. Bella called to him, telling him if he were to come over and pull her, she would make it worth his while.

Michael ignored her. He whispered that Garrett was still alive, but he was in serious condition. I would have to go see my friend when I left here.

I turned back to Bella after my brother left. "Where's Emmett?" she asked, tilting her head to the side. She closed her eyes while she finished. "I want to speak with him. It's urgent."

Oh shit! That was what set her off. She thought Rosalie was dead. I had to diffuse her but I couldn't. Not yet. Bella was a mercenary not a strategist. She would ruin this for me. She was out for blood and the only strategy she cared about at the moment was the one she used to maim or kill her opponent.

"What would you like to talk to him about?"

Her eyes popped open and she stared me down while a deadly grin formed on her lips. As I looked at her, I still couldn't find an ounce of the woman I wanted in my life. All I saw was the cold-hearted bitch chained to a chair before me. "I want to have a nice, long chat with him about killing my sister."

"Really?"

"Oh don't worry, Jasper," she said with concern. "Emmett and mine's chat will be very, very painful for him. I promise." She laughed at the end then closed her eyes and began to hum.

This was going to be harder than I thought.

I got up and left. When we walked out of the room, Leah sighed, and Simon shook his head, calling Bella crazy. He suggested just killing her and getting it over with. I didn't answer that. Instead I sent him to oversee getting rid of all the bodies. We had people who handle this mess. Simon would oversee things and report back to me. My phone rang and it was Peter wanting to know what was going on. He told me he heard Rosalie was dead and Emmett was missing in action. He told me everything he had found out in a breath. But I was concerned about one thing.

"Yeah," I answered. "What the fuck are you still doing in town?"

"I'm not leaving," Peter replied in a strong voice. "Char and I talked and we decided we're not going to abandon you."

I cursed into the phone and out loud. I cursed him for wanting to stay and not listening to me when I said get the fuck out of dodge.

"Yeah, yeah, Jas. You're family to us and we're not walking away." He hung up before I could say anything else. So I called his ass back and told him to head to the club and to send Char to the restaurant to oversee things. I was going to be busy for the next couple of days. He agreed. They were dumb for staying. They were going to die if I didn't get them out before it was too late.

Pop walked over to me. "She isn't cooperating."

"I'll get her to."

"How?"

"I have my ways," I said to him with a sinister smile.

"Sometimes you can be scary, boy."

"I aim to please, Pop." I smiled then switched gears on him, talking about business. "The Chekov deal will be completed tomorrow. You'll have to entertain them before their departure for me. I'll be a little busy."

"The deal will be completed tomorrow upon delivery. I'm proud of you, son. You got them some pretty weapons," Pop said with a smile.

"Like I said, I aim to please, Pop."

Pop left soon after. Simon and some funeral homes we ran removed the bodies. There would no investigation. The cops understood their place in our world. And no one was going to be sticking their noses into this. Aro stuck around until we almost fought after he kept insisting on being allowed to interrogate Bella.

"Seems you've got some lingering emotions, baby blue," Aro said with a grin. "Don't worry. When the boys are through fucking the living hell out of her when you leave, we'll see how you still feel about your little FBI bitch."

"Pissed you didn't get her first?" I sneered at him.

He smiled evilly. "It's not about being first, baby blue. We'll see who has her last."

It will be me. "Yeah, we'll see."

He left and Leah relaxed her hand from her gun. "Are we staying?"

"Yeah. Aro's going to goad the guys against Bella. They'll hurt her as soon as I turn my back. We've got to keep a very close eye on her," I said as I watched Bella on the CCTV. Her head was hung and she was breathing heavily.

That night and the first full day of her torture went as smooth as it could. Bella broke one of her guards arm and busted up the other's nose when they tried to take her to the bathroom. She spat food into another's face when he tried to feed her. He slapped her and I made Leah threaten to shoot him if he did it again. Then again, Bella did try to bite his finger off as he tried to put food in her mouth.

I went in that night to question her and still, nothing but laughs and pleas for me to slap her around so she could fuck me up when she got out of the chair.

"Alright, Bella," I said to her. "We'll do it your way."

She looked confused for split second and I smiled. Then I got up, moved my chair away and walked out. I left Leah with her along with other guards. Leah asked where I was going. "Home." She looked confused. She didn't need to know. She just needed to watch Bella. Simon would switch with her when I said so.

"For how long?" Leah asked.

"I don't know."

This was how we were going to play it. "I'll come back when she's ready to talk."

Leah followed me outside, whispering harshly. "They're going to kill her! Is that what you want?"

I looked at her stoically. "Call when you're ready to leave and Simon will switch with you."

I got into my truck and drove off. I knew I was doing the right thing. I knew this was the only way to get what I wanted, but, fuck, if it didn't hurt me to do this to her.

Four days had passed. Bella hasn't broke. The crazed look on her face was gone. The Bella I knew was back but she still hadn't broken. She wouldn't give us anything. She only wanted to see Emmett. She was hungry, dehydrated and tired. We tried to get food in her but she refused, claiming I was trying to poison her. She spat drink after drink in my face. I wasn't afraid to slap her around for it and she welcomed it.

She was still asking for Emmett. Fuck! I wanted to see the idiot too.

Today was day five and Edward was with me. He got in last night. And he came bearing information. Things were getting hot over at Bella's divisional office. Banner was doing exactly what I said he would. He was turning Bella's capture into propaganda to use and come after the notorious Whitlocks. Edward took leave.

"He can't touch you," I had told him. Edward and Uncle Carlisle were family. Anyone dared lay a finger on them would be dead in a minute.

He looked at me with hate and then looked out the window. Leah had come clean to him last night about knowing about my plans and her plans to go down with me when shit hit the fan. To say my cousin was pissed would an understatement. He cursed us both out for being heartless idiots. He told me he fucking hated me for doing this but he was just disappointed in Leah for wanting to break his heart like that.

'Still not talking to me?" I asked him.

"Go fuck yourself!" he said while staring out the window. He and Leah weren't speaking. She covered her feelings well. Her face was stoic as she drove but I could see the sadness in her eyes. She didn't care about anyone else being disappointed in her. Not even me. But Edward…he was another story.

"I wanted to marry you," he said to her while we drew closer to my crazy girl. "I wanted us to have a life together. I would've even quit the fucking FBI and gone and work with my dad patching up these motherfuckers when they got shot. I would have finally put my medical degree to use for fuck's sake! And you want to what? Leave with this bitch!" He shouted and then scoffed at me.

"Watch who you're talking to." I warned him.

"I hope Bella shoots your dick off," he mumbled and I smiled.

Before Edward had found out about Leah's involvement with my plans, he had shared something very interesting with me about Bella's handler, Alice Brandon. As it turned out she was a snitch for Banner. She reported back everything the Swans said and did back to him. It would be very interesting to see what Bella did with her if she were to get her hands on her.

I didn't have to wonder. When we pulled up, one of my guys came running saying there was a breach but they were keeping it quiet. Leah told us to wait and went in. She came back out shortly after with a shocked look on her face.

"What is it?"

"Alice Brandon is here but Bella won't leave with her. She's trying to kill her."

We ran inside. The door to the room was wide open, and when we went in, we were stunned. Bella had Alice against the wall with her hands around her throat, choking the hell out of her.

"You killed him!" She screamed at Alice. Alice tried to talk but nothing was coming out. "You killed him, you bitch! We trusted you and you killed him. You're dead!"

Everyone was either entertained by two agents about to kill each other and make things easy for us or too stunned to move. Bella hadn't eaten or drank anything for five days so where the fuck did she get the strength to attack someone? She looked as strong as the first day I locked her in here. Her eyes were feral as she scolded Alice, "All this time! You've been working for Banner. All this time! I'm going to kill you!"

Alice's eyes were bloodshot from choking when I stepped in, pulling Bella off of her and pushing her away. I turned to Alice, quickly pushing her to Edward, who caught her as she fell. "Get her out of here! I need her!"

Alice had the inner workings of Banner. I was going to use that then who knows what will happen to her. I moved toward Edward, running him out, and it was a good thing because Bella's foot swiftly passed my head as she tried to kick me.

I was through. Did she know what I was going through for her? To save her?

I threw off my jacket and when she tried to kick me again, I blocked it, kicking her away from me. I attacked her.

Bella defended herself. Her punches were strong and fast. I got clocked in the face, stomach and even in the balls when I dropped her to her knees with a kick to the stomach. I wasn't playing around with her and I wouldn't be taken down like Garrett.

She got to her feet, and after a scuffle, we grabbed each other's throats and held tight. We slammed one another into opposing walls, using our knees to hit the other in their sides. I lifted her up and threw her down and she took me down with her, holding my neck between her legs, squeezing. Leah moved to step in and I ran her out. This was between me and Bella.

"Stop holding back, bitch!" Bella said. "I am going to kill you!"

I got out of the bind and flipped her over, slamming her down on her back and jumping on top of her, choking her. I knew they were watching. I had to make this good. Bella was unknowingly giving me the opportunity I needed to get her out of here. Get her somewhere safe. Somewhere I could talk to her. Make her understand.

She fought out of my hold and got her hands on one of my knives. I took out the other and it turned into a knife fight. I found myself into Garrett's position five days prior. She was quick as she sliced at me. I cut her and she cut me back. I had cuts my hands, my shoulder and a slice across my stomach but I didn't care. I just had to disarm her.

We circled each other like animals fighting for dominance and we were. If Bella won, she would satisfy what she had been craving, revenge for her brother's murder. But she didn't know what she would be losing. Aside from me, as I liked to proudly think my death would affect her, she would be missing out on finding out how deep the rabbit hole really went and who was down there. James' death had just been the tip of a very large iceberg.

We attacked. The knives were lost and it was down to punches and kicks again as I fought Bella with all I had. She was good. I had underestimated her. She could take me and she wasn't ready to back down. We were both bloodied and bruised when we backed away from each other. Bella had her fists up as did I.

I was breathing heavily. "Ready to get back in the chair?" I spat out the blood in the corner of my mouth.

"Go fuck yourself," she said.

It was the second time I was hearing that today. Bella grabbed up a knife when I saw her walk in. I don't know what she was doing here but this shit was going to get crazy. How was I going to explain her not being dead.

Bella saw her too and it was the distraction I needed. I had to do this. It was the only way. I moved faster than I ever had and when her shocked eyes looked into mine, it was already done. My blade had struck her in the side. It was enough to make her stop. I told her I was sorry before her eyes closed and her body went limp against me.

I picked her up and ran out of the room screaming for Edward to follow me. Rosalie and Emmett did too.

"I hope you know what you're doing!" Rosalie said to me as she ran with me to the car with her bleeding sister. "Because if she dies, you die."

Well fuck me. I just traded one crazy sister for the next. This family was crazy as hell.


	19. How Do You Know

_**Bella 2006**_

Jasper was beside himself while he begged me to breathe. Rosalie was screaming at him and threatening him while she begged someone to drive faster.

My head was in Jasper's lap as his hand gently ran through my hair.

Whenever I closed my eyes, he would grip it tightly and scream at me to open them. "Don't you fucking close your eyes, Bella!" Jasper said. "Shit, I didn't mean to stick you that deep! Don't fucking die, baby! I'm so sorry!" He sounded near tears and I wanted to laugh at him but I was too sleepy. I couldn't keep my eyes open for much longer. I just wanted to sleep. It was so close. If I could just find the strength to tell them all to shut the fuck up so I could get some rest, I would be good.

Then again, why was I thinking about sleep when all I wanted to do was fuck Jasper up?

He stabbed me! The motherfucker stabbed me! As soon as I got some rest, I was going to fuck him up.

My eyes closed once more and Jasper shook me awake but fuck fighting to stay awake. The power of exhaustion was too strong. I was going in and out of it. Nothing was making sense anymore. I mean Rosie was here. How could she be here if she was dead? It wasn't possible for her to be here, threatening Jasper if she was dead.

She was. Those guys I killed said she was. So she was.

Emmett was here too and he shouldn't be. He should be hiding under a rock from me. But it was a good thing he was here, because when I was through with Jasper, I was going to skin him alive for what he did to my sister.

They fucked with the wrong family.

I looked at the front seat and saw what had to be a hallucination of Rosie sitting there, looking at me with worry.

Damn hallucinations! I knew holding out on food and water from Jasper for five days would take a toll on me. But I couldn't see past my hatred for him to be concerned about my health.

Besides, I had done it before. I was the one who had trained my body this way; to survive harsh conditions without the essential food and water for a couple of days. The side effects of fucking with my body like that were a bitch but it was worth it.

I was paying for it now by imagining my sister being here, alive and worried about me.

Then there was Alice.

That bitch was real. Having my hands around her traitorous throat before Jasper interrupted me was proof of that. She wouldn't remain that though. I would finish what I started the next time our paths crossed.

Alice claimed she had broken into Jasper's warehouse to save me.

Oh please! That bitch was here to gloat. She was Banner's slut and she had snuck in to see me at my worst so she could report back to Banner that I was as good as dead.

I knew what Banner was going to do. The son of a bitch was going to use my death and to garner attention on himself. He wanted to look good for the upper heads. Catching my killers and taking a well known crime family was going to do wonders for him. He would be promoted for his actions.

The truth was, he was the gang's bitch. He was betraying them and I wonder if he had considered what would happen if Jasper came after him. The man was not to be messed with. He was a fucking monster! He stabbed me. Trust me, I could attest to his dark side.

Fucking Banner. Who knows how many agents he had sold out over the years? Maybe Jamie found out how many. Maybe he found names. Maybe he could name the names of the bigger heads who kept people like Jasper and his dad out of prison. It could be anything. Whatever it was exactly, my brother was still dead. Banner sent him to his death after he was the one who set up the assignment to infiltrate in the first place.

Sitting in my little torture room for five days, not eating or distracting myself with my feelings for Jasper, had left me with time to think.

With time to take a step back and evaluate shit.

I looked at the bullshit around me from the outside in.

When I did, I saw the truth staring me right in the fucking face.

Alice had always been a plant.

Right from the start.

She came in, got close through her relationship with my brother, and then she sold him out and got him killed. I didn't care about the exact details. I just knew I would send her ass to hell for her part in this scenario.

But what brought me here?

James had died.

He had been killed after he was discovered some truths while working undercover. He was to infiltrate the Whitlock gang and sources say his death was ordered by Jasper.

I wasn't sure about that anymore.

Jasper didn't act like someone proud of killing the FBI agent who had gained access to his gang. I wasn't deluded. I knew what I was talking about. Since I have met Jasper, and since things have grown deeper between us, Jasper has acted more like someone who was sorry for something he had done to me, than a man who was proud of getting rid of James.

That was with me. To others in his life, he was the same cold hearted gangster he always was.

Even though I didn't want to admit it to myself, it made me happy he wanted a part of himself to be just something for us. It also told me he had been lying to me just as long as I had been lying to him.

Jasper knew me or about me right from the start.

The problem was, how?

When I walked into his office that day claiming to be looking for a job, he knew I was FBI and he had been lying to me all this time.

But why?

I would find out before I killed him.

Banner. I wanted to have a little fun with him before I killed the son of a bitch. I hoped I would get to. Sometimes shit had to be done quickly. It took the fun out of things, but such was life. Banner was a sellout. He had to pay for it. I was just going to gouge his eyes out. That fucking bastard! I was going to finish what Jamie had stopped me from doing when I was a young agent and Banner had trapped me in his office one night and wanted me to have sex with him.

He was known to frequent the attentions of the younger crowd. He especially loved teenage girls.

Maybe this was how he had caught Alice in his web. When she was young in the service, he had promised her a promotion. You know what I didn't care. I was just going to end the bitch!

In the past, Banner's connections had kept him from getting charged with anything. But it wasn't going protect him from me.

"Bella!" Jasper's voice shouted, breaking through my trance. I wanted to hit him in the throat for screaming at me, but the car had stopped and the light was bright as I was being pulled out of it.

I could see them all around me. My hallucination of Rosie was looking down at me and then I was hoisted up and my head landed on a shoulder. I knew the scent of this person. It was being masked with blood, both mine and his, but I knew his scent. I was in Jasper's arms.

He ran with me to someone. Another man came into view. He was tall like Jasper with blonde hair like Jasper said he had. Blonde like his mom, Tanya. I knew this new person. Or I knew of him.

This was Edward's dad, Dr. Carlisle Cullen.

Carlisle was known for his expertise as one of the best physicians in the country but also for having gangsters as family members. His little sister by his mother was Tanya Denali, Jasper's mom.

He shouted at Jasper and we were moving again. I was way too tired now. All the movement was taking a lot out of me. I was going to sleep.

I closed my eyes and the last thing I heard was Jasper screaming my name.

I felt like I was inside my head. It didn't matter. I was just going to sleep for a few minutes.

There was a bright light. It was almost blinding. It was all around me and I had to cover my eyes until something in me told me it was okay to look. When I did, I was shocked by what I saw. I was back home. I couldn't be. I knew I was supposed to be somewhere else but for the love of me, I couldn't remember where that was. I just knew I was now standing in the middle of my childhood home and nothing had changed. It was the same fireplace we used to sit in front of, the same old couch that we watched TV on, played on, dropped food stains on, then there was the old familiar feeling of being home and the smell of Rosie's cooking permeated the air. She was making steaks for dinner.

I kept looking around in stunned silence. How did I get here? Why was I here? Was I dreaming? Was I dead? Was this my version of purgatory?

I closed my eyes every once in a while, just to take deep breaths and calm myself, and whenever I did, I would get flashes of my life. I saw Jasper in a lot of them. Heard his laughter and saw his smiles. They were easy and so beautiful. For a moment, I forgot why I hated him.

In other flashes, I remembered my sister and my brother. I saw their smiles and heard their laughter. Then I remembered that Rosie was dead and if this was where we went, then where was she?

Even with my eyes opened, thoughts raced through my mind. I felt lightheaded; like I was going to fall. I grabbed the side table to keep from tumbling to the floor. I closed my eyes, trying to center myself. I tried to regulate my breathing, taking easy breaths, but it hardly worked.

Another flash pulled me under and I saw myself killing everyone that came across me at Jasper's warehouse. I felt like a ghost of myself watching this version of me killing everyone in her path. I looked feral. I looked like an animal. A monster.

Carmen had always said she was the most proud of me in those moments. That the monster was the true me. She said I was meant to be a killer.

I chose to disagree with her. I once told her as much and she laughed in my face, saying one day I would prove her right. I was a monster. I was no angel.

I snapped my eyes open, wanting to push away the thought. Killing those men was the only way I could grieve for my sister at the time. They had to die because my sister was dead. There had been no right or wrong for me. It was blood for blood.

I started to think about Jamie. I missed him so much. I wanted my brother back. But reality said I couldn't have him. He was gone. He would only be in my dreams and I had to be satisfied with that.

At least I could see him sometimes.

"I'm always with you, Honey Bee," he said in my ear.

I jumped and stumbled away, staggering back until my back hit a wall as my breath caught while I stared at Jamie, standing in front of me, smiling and shit. He looked so…alive.

He cocked an eyebrow at that. Did he hear my thought?

He smiled and nodded.

Oh fuck!

"I think I'm scaring you," he said in his rich deep voice. "I'm gonna take a seat on the couch and wait until you wrap your head around this. Just know that you don't have enough time to do it though, Honey Bee."

What did he mean I didn't have enough time? How come he was here and looking alive? Where was I?

My brother's blue eyes sparkled with amusement at my thoughts. He had nodded that he could read them. Since when Jamie could read minds?

"Since I've been here," he replied, waving his hand around to emphasize on where we were.

"Where are we?"

"Where do you want it to be?"

"Jamie, I hated that shit," I said, reprimanding him. He knew I hated being interrogated and when someone answered me with a question. I felt like that was where things were heading.

It was fucking annoying!

Jamie laughed and it was so carefree, as nervous and confused as I was, I smiled too.

"You didn't answer me, Honey Bee." Jamie told me. "Where do you want this to be?"

"Home." It was the first thing that came to mind to say. "I want…I want this to be home. I want to stay with you."

I didn't know where the tears were coming from, but I began to cry. And Jamie let me.

When I calmed down, I saw him staring into the fire. He spoke without looking at me, "I'm not happy you're here so soon, Honey Bee."

"But…I want to stay."

I started crying again, collapsing to my knees. I stayed there, closing my eyes tightly while I cried my heart out.

Then I felt it.

A warm, comforting embrace. "I love you, Honey Bee."

"You left!"

"I'm never too far. Here…it's home for me now. But I'm never too far away from all of you," he whispered in my ear while I hiccupped. If he only knew how comforted I felt to know I wasn't alone. To know he wasn't truly gone.

"I'm not," Jamie answered.

So I spoke all my truths while I laid there on the floor of my old house with the ghost of my brother comforting me.

A therapist would have me locked up forever if they heard this.

"They probably would," he said with a rich chuckle.

"Punk!" I laughed. My first true laugh since he died.

We moved to the couch. I lay there, putting my feet up on the coffee table, while Jamie sat beside me. We sat in silence for what seemed like forever until he said with finality, "You can't stay, Bella."

I was thinking about it.

"Maybe I can't stay yet," I countered. "But I'm sure I'll be back soon. I have done a lot of shit, Jamie."

He looked at me, smiling knowingly, but he didn't say anything except…

"You have a lot to live for, Honey Bee."

"No, I don't. You and Rosie are here."

He looked at me in question then corrected me. "I'm here, Honey Bee."

"But Rosie is…"

"She's not."

"I saw…"

"You saw her. I was there too and you scared me, Bee," he said sadly and then chuckled. "You're scaring Jasper right now."

"Don't!"

I didn't want to hear that name. Not while I was here in whatever this was with my brother. My sister was alive. I wasn't hallucinating. She had been real.

"Yes, she was. And thinking about Jasper doesn't make things bad. He loves you and you are just as in love with him."

"You must be fucking crazy!"

Jamie smiled. "I'm not. There's no pain or illness here, Honey Bee. I'm not crazy. I know what I see."

Yeah, cause he saw it with Alice.

"Yeah, cause I saw it with Alice," he repeated.

"That's freaky! Can you quit the mind reading shit?"

"No. I like it." He smiled. "In here," He waved around. "I can do anything. No limitations," Jamie said.

I sat up and faced him so I could study his face carefully. And when he laughed, I jumped.

"Quit it, Honey Bee!"

"Why should I? I'm not sure what's happening. I'm talking to my dead brother," I retorted.

He looked solemn before he sighed and said, "I'm sorry for leaving you, Honey Bee."

I tried to remember all I wanted to say to him but I couldn't find the words. I could only say, "I know."

"He's taking too long."

"Who is?" I questioned.

Jamie looked at me like I was fucking with him. "You know who, Honey Bee."

I rolled my eyes. "Not this again."

He smiled. "I love how you're denying the truth."

"It's not truth. It's circumstance."

Jamie shook his head and laughed out loud at my expense. "Jasper cares about you more than I am willing to admit because I still see you as my little sister whom I love very much and would do anything to protect."

"Why are you saying this?" I asked.

He shrugged with a small smile. He seemed so happy here.

He nodded. "I have no reason to be sad here, Bella. It's beautiful. It's happy. I can watch over my family until it's your time."

I moved to interrupt him and he slammed me. "And it's not your time so quit thinking it!"

I raised my hands in surrender. "So what are we doing here?"

"Waiting."

"On what?"

"On you to accept the truth."

"There is nothing to accept. I don't love Jasper Whitlock. He's the coldblooded bastard who took you from me! There is nothing to love! He's nothing!"

"He's something to you!" Jamie shouted back. "And it's time you accept it. All the anger, all the sadness, share it. You two have a lot in common. He carries as much pain as you do. He cares about his family as much as you do. He would go to great lengths to protect them, to preserve their lives over his, just like you. So don't tell me you don't care. In fact, you're worried about him. You want to know him as much as he wants to know you."

"He knew who I was. Right from the start. He's been lying and I wanna know why. That's all I know," I told Jamie with conviction.

Jamie looked at me again like I was fucking with him. "Stop playing dumb. You know you know why."

I guessed why but it couldn't be true. It had to be someone else.

"No. It's not him."

"Stop playing dumb, Honey Bee. I raised you better than that and you're insulting me."

"It's not." I refused to believe it.

"You figured it out when you were in that room. Chained to that chair," Jamie whispered.

"You were there?"

"I told you. I'm with you until the end."

"He's not."

Jamie sighed and then shrugged. "Fine. Think what you will, but knowing that we both know the truth, I can say I told you so from now."

I got up without a word, ready to leave and found myself on a beach. The sun was setting over the horizon and the evening breeze was cool. The waves rolled in, gently embracing the sand, before rolling back out. I walked away from Jamie who was seated in the sand. I headed closer because _she_ was standing there. I walked until I was close enough to touch her. Then I stopped beside her.

She was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. A lot lovelier than her pictures. She was staring out at the setting sun. She looked sad. "Life," she said in a melodious voice. "It can be fickle. My family is coming to an end. I want to help, but all I can do is wait. James says to breathe and wait patiently to welcome whoever comes my way," Tanya said, turning to look at me. "Do you think your brother is right, Bella?"

"Yes." I was too stunned by her casual use of my name and how she looked at me as if she has known me all my life to be afraid of the woman who gave birth to the man I…

Tanya smiled knowingly. "It's alright, Bella. You don't have to say it yet. No one is pressuring you to. The truth is just that…the truth. One day, you'll grow to love saying what you refuse to say at the moment."

I knew exactly what she meant.

"Jasper has been happy with you. Amidst the chaos, he found peace. He found love. It was what I have always wanted for him."

I didn't answer. I looked out at the sea and smiled.

 _ **JasperPOV**_

Pop walked into my office looking like he was ready to kill.

"Why the fuck is she still alive?"

I didn't like his demanding tone. I wasn't a fucking kid and seeing Aro standing behind him with a satisfying smirk on his face I couldn't shoot off pissed me off even more.

But I had to remain calm. It wouldn't work otherwise.

"Because she's been valuable," I said with indifference coloring my tone. I even shrugged my right shoulder to make it believable.

"What are you talking about, Jasper?" Pop was desperately trying to rein in his temper. He couldn't see straight. To him, Bella was alive because I had become a lovesick puppy. I didn't care that she had eliminated some of his men. I only cared about getting with her. That was what he was thinking. I could see it on his face.

Aro was also feeding him that shit. I could see the crap all over the bastard's face.

I had to find a way to get him away from Pop so I could kill him. Maybe it would get me in Bella's good graces but it would also satisfy an itch I have had for years. I have hated this bastard all my life and it was time to get rid of him.

"Bella has been talking." As if. My girl wasn't weak. And if she was awake, she wouldn't be singing like a damn canary. Bella wouldn't be giving me anything. In fact, she was probably still sleeping like a fucking baby right now. Uncle Carlisle had her on some damn good sedatives. "She's been giving me a lot of valuable information about some upper heads we should be keeping a better eye on." I lied. "Like this takedown Banner has got planned, for instance. He isn't the only one behind it. The fuck has had help."

I gave Pop some more names. These idiots were punks who thought we were fucking around. I wanted to get rid of them and this was a good opportunity to. To let the old man focus on them and take his eyes off of me and Bella for a little while. I convinced Pop of some contacts we had in the police force, the FBI and even the CIA and NSA were ready to sell him out. I didn't give a shit about them. I care about buying Bella's freedom. And these assholes would fall in her place. No one was going to touch a hair on her head if I had anything to say about it. I warped Pop's mind until I saw belief in his eyes then I knew I had right where I wanted him. Aro was losing. I was winning.

"She told you all of this?" he said, looking a lot calmer than he was a while ago while he thought about what I had just said.

"Yeah," I said with a nod. I had one of my guns in my hands. I had been cleaning it when Pop came storming into my office. I reloaded the sucker with my eyes trained on Aro. I loved how his eyes snapped with a little fear when I clicked the ammo in place while looking at him with an evil look on my face.

When Pop addressed me, I gave him my full attention, wiping off the contemptuous look on my face. I didn't want him thinking about watching out for his pal right now. I wanted him focused on getting back at his traitors. Some real and some invented. Who gives a shit?

"What about the sister? Emmett's little woman?" Pop said. "I was there. I heard the shots."

Oh Carmen, you sneaky bitch. I know what you're after and you're not getting my woman. Bella was mine.

"It was the Cortez. It was time for Rosalie to go back to work. Apparently the father, Charlie Swan, he has some deal with Carmen after she got Bella out of a situation."

"Hold on, the Swans work with the Cortezs?" Pop said in disbelief and shock. Eleazar was a good friend of the family. Pop would ask him. Carmen had to have that end covered.

"The CIA is known for their deals, aren't they?" I said with ease.

"Yeah."

"Well, one deal led the Swans right to the Cortezs, namely Carmen, and then Bella got trapped and it became a good opportunity to utilize her killing methods for Carmen's use."

"So the sister has to go in Bella's place?"

Pop bought it.

"Yeah. She's a good hacker. It was one of the reasons the CIA recruited her."

He nodded. "This is fucking crazy. What did we walk into?"

"A fucking haystack, Pop."

After he left with Aro and his guards, since he had some entertaining to do, I was letting them use my club for a farewell party for the Chekovs before they left, but I didn't breathe a sigh of relief until I was sitting back in my house just outside the city by Bella's bedside.

I liked the room. When I had decorated I was thinking of her. She looked like she liked a lot of light streaming into the room. It was huge space. Big enough to be a studio apartment instead of a bedroom. I asked the interior decorator to keep it contemporary. Bella would love that. Admittedly, I had retained a lot of information from my talks with James about his sister. Every time we met up to talk or exchange information, I stole a bit of info about his little sister until he caught on and told me he would kill me with his bare hands if I went near her.

I laughed in his face.

It was too late.

Looking back as I sat here, watching her sleep, I didn't fall for her when she walked into my life.

I was in love with her by then.

That shit was crazy but it was the truth.

I loved her little acts while she slept. Sometimes she would smile and other times, she knitted her brows like she was thinking hard about something. She looked a little healthier than she did a few days ago. She looked like the girl I had come to know and was in love with. It felt good to admit that to myself.

I would love to admit to her but I had to talk to her first. I planned on doing it as soon as she woke up and I wasn't looking forward to it. But it had to be done. She deserved the truth. I couldn't delay. I was running out of time. Once the Chekovs faked their departure, everything would be set in motion, and their takedown of my family would begin. I wished I could change things but everything was already set this way and I fucking hated it. I hate that it was too late for me, but I would make sure it wasn't too late for Bella.

The traitors would be coming from all sides and I had to ensure my family, friends and Bella made it out safe.

"Where are you, nephew?" Uncle Carlisle asked as he walked by, going to the other side of Bella's bed, to check her readings and shit. I always loved my uncle. He made not having Mom around not so bad once I had calmed down to think after she died. He helped me pull my head out of my ass and made me see that I wasn't the only one who lost her. There was my little brother, him being her big brother and not able to save her even though he was a doctor, Edward and even my pop.

Uncle Carlisle and Mom had different dads, but the same mother. They were close and he was always there for me and Michael. I could talk to him in ways I could never talk to Pop. He understood my reasons for leaving this type of life behind, if I was going to be able to. He knew what I was up to. I didn't have to tell him. He didn't want details. He just wanted me to be okay.

I knew I wouldn't be. Uncle Carlisle has continued to refuse to believe that. He thought I could fake my death and disappear. "People do that shit every day," he had said.

"I'm right here."

"No you're not." He smiled and took a seat across from me. "Worried about your girlfriend?"

I didn't have to look at him to know he was smiling. He loved to tease me about shit. "If you're so worried, maybe you shouldn't have stabbed her." I glared at him and he shrugged and mouthed to go fuck myself. He also loved to goad me. He liked it when I got mad. He said anger made you feel alive.

My uncle was a very angry man. Edward and he got into a lot of arguments over the years because of his attitude, which pushed his wife, Elizabeth, Edward's mom, into another man's arms. He said she wanted to go. I tend to agree because once she turned her back she didn't even look back for Edward's sake. Whatever with her, I hated the bitch anyway.

"Then again my boy said she was whooping your ass so I get why you had to cheat," he continued with a grin I wanted to wipe off.

"I didn't cheat."

He nodded with a smile that said he didn't believe it for a second. But I didn't. Bella was one of the best I have ever fought. "I saw a way to get her out of there while she was distracted and I took it."

"Sure," he said with a grin. "Keep telling yourself that, boy."

"Go fuck yourself, Uncle."

He laughed out at that one. "You sure can pick 'em though. Of all the girls you could have, you pick a crazed killing machine to be the one you fall for."

I smiled because it was true. "Yeah." I didn't have to hide from Uncle Carlisle.

"She's going to kill you when she knows," he stated seriously and then smiled, "It's actually going to be fun watching your little terminator rip your balls off. She did a number on her traitor friend, Alice. She still can't talk good. All Edward is getting are hoarse whispers."

"I'm going to kill her." I already decided to kill Alice. I wasn't one to judge but she was fucking foul for spying on the Swans for that punk Banner.

"I think your girl will kill you for killing her."

"Why?" I asked him. I was sure Bella would want her dead.

"She doesn't get to do it if you do it!" he said, rolling his eyes at me like I was a dumbass.

"Shut up, Uncle."

He laughed and got up, making his way out of the room. "I really can't wait for her to wake up though. It's going to be good."

I didn't answer. I ran a hand through her hair and smiled. And she smiled back. Whatever she was dreaming about must really be good.

 _ **Bella…**_

I looked back and saw Jamie heading toward us. "Jamie, what is it?" I asked when he got close.

His eyes were moving quickly. He was looking all over the place, then he settled on me. He gripped my upper arm and I felt a jolt of electricity running through me. "You have to go!" he exclaimed.

Tanya agreed. "Yes, you have to go, Bella! Leave. Now!"

"But…" I didn't want to leave him. I didn't want to leave the peace I felt where we were.

"I don't want to go," I said, starting to cry. "I don't want to leave!"

"I love you, Honey Bee," Jamie said. Tanya smiled in agreement.

"She's back!" I heard someone say and I started to breathe. I opened my eyes slightly and saw Jasper over me, looking worried.

"I love you," he said with a kiss to my forehead. "I thought I lost you! You were sleeping and then you stopped breathing."

I looked at him, still not believing what Jamie was saying, and turned my head away.

But then I turned back to him because I wanted to look in his eyes when I said this.

"It was you," I said to him. He stared at me both in shock and something that really surprised me. Relief. "It's always been you."


	20. Road to the Truth

_**Jasper 2006**_

She looked into my eyes and said, "It was you." The way she said it told me she knew and I wanted to know how she found out without me telling her. How could she know I was James' informant?

I felt shocked but also relieved that she did. And that made me suddenly not care how Bella found out, I was just glad she knew the truth because she had no idea how agonizing it has been to keep this from her.

There was a glitch though.

Bella didn't look as pleased as I felt about knowing the truth. In fact, she looked downright feral and ready to kill me.

She cut her eyes from me and glanced over at her very much alive sister, Rosalie. Emmett was standing with Rosalie and I felt like I should tell him to take about five steps back before Bella ripped her IV out and wrapped it around his neck.

The look on her face said she was considering it.

"I thought I lost you," Rosalie said to Bella with tears in her eyes. She had been crying over Bella since we left the warehouse and now her sister was awake but didn't seem happy to see her.

Bella didn't look happy to be alive. She looked uncomfortable; like she wanted to be anywhere but here.

I looked to Carlisle for answers, but he just shrugged his shoulders.

What was wrong with her? Why was she acting like this? I knew she loved her family more than anything, and here was the sister she thought had died, standing in front of her very much alive and Bella looked like she wanted Rosalie to get away from her?

"Bella, are you okay?" Rosalie moved closer to touch her, but Bella pulled away. She was looking at Rosalie like she was a stranger and I was hoping it wasn't fucking amnesia. This would be the wrong time for that shit. I didn't have the time to help her remember shit.

"Bella, Rosalie is here. She's alive," I said, hoping to soothe her.

The way her head snapped to me and the way she glared at me both told me she hated the ground I walked on and she didn't have fucking amnesia.

"It was you. All this time…" She sneered at me. "It was you, you fucking son of a bitch!"

She moved to get off the bed and I ran and grabbed her, pushing her back down on it. She grabbed my throat, squeezing. "I'm going to kill you! I'm going to kill you!" She screamed at me. Rosalie and Emmett came to my rescue. Bella was squeezing tight. I could feel my air being cut off.

Emmett got her to let me go amidst the expletives she was hurling at him and threatening his life. He didn't pay her any mind. Edward came to help and he and Emmett had a hard time holding Bella down while Carlisle prepared a needle.

"What are you doing?" I grabbed my uncle's arm and demanded to know.

He flashed me off. "I'm gonna knock her ass out before your little terminator kills us all, jackass!"

Edward and Emmett managed to get Bella on her side so Carlisle could slightly pull her pajama pants down and jam a needle in her right butt cheek. The guys backed off, huffing like they had been running in a fucking marathon, while Bella calmed. It was a fight to get her on her side. Bella managed to kick Emmett in the face for his troubles and she ripped out a chunk of Edward's hair while she screamed all the vile things she was going to do once she got her hands on me. She wasn't short on words as she told me how much she hated me, hated all of us and how she wanted to go back.

That part stuck out. Go back? Go back to where? What the hell was she talking about?

After Carlisle got the sedative in her, she relaxed a bit and then we found out through her sleep induced ramblings what she was talking about.

Apparently while Bella was resting as she healed from the torture she endured at my hand and stab wound I caused, she started hallucinating about a better life. Or she dreamed of her brother, Jamie. They were in her old house. They talked. They talked about everything.

Rosalie looked like she wanted to bawl while Bella spoke. My own fucking throat caught and I swallowed my tears when she started to describe my mother and talked about seeing her on a beach and how my momma was waiting for her family.

What the hell?

Then Bella started to cry and begged us to kill her. She told us she didn't want to live. She wanted to go back to the peaceful place and be with her brother.

Was this a breakdown? Had Bella gone too far? I couldn't allow it. She couldn't break now. Not when everything was about to come tumbling down. I had to protect her. I needed her here, in a present state of mind, while this shit went down. I couldn't have her dazed and confused about shit.

She kept mumbling about James and my mother until she fell asleep, leaving everyone in the room in shock and discomfort.

"That shit isn't real, right?" Emmett said, breaking the silence after a couple minutes of us doing nothing but standing around watching Bella sleep.

"I believe there's a heaven and a hell," I said while staring at her on the bed and knowing as soon as she woke up I wanted to know how she found out about me. "And I think she saw a glimpse of her heaven."

When I looked at everyone, Rosalie was looking at me with worry. "Was it really you?" she asked.

I didn't answer.

Rosalie chuckled darkly. "All this time. It's been you. All this time, while we were looking for the one who helped Jamie, and it was you. This whole time. It was you."

She didn't need to repeat the shit over and over again. I got the point. She was stunned. But I still didn't answer as everyone looked between us. And Rosalie didn't elaborate. She didn't need to. Instead, she switched the subject. "Since you believe in a heaven and a hell, why are you trying so hard to leave Bella behind for one of them?"

It was my turn to chuckle darkly. "I do believe in a higher power, Rosalie. But do you really think a bastard like me has a choice? Do you think I'll get to choose where I'm going? I'm bound for hell, darlin'. We both know that. And as to why? Just know that I'll do what I can for Bella because I know she didn't deserve any of this. She could have been a normal person. She didn't need to become this!" I sneered at her.

Rosalie got in my face. "Where the hell do you get off telling me about my sister? You think because you two were fucking, you know shit?!" She shouted at me. "You're nothing to her, Whitlock!"

I got back in her face. "And whose fault is that? Why does this amazing girl think she has to be a superb killer? Hmm? Tell me whose fault is it, Rosalie!"

"Hey, you two!" Emmett yelled. "Fucking stop!"

We didn't listen to him.

"What are you trying to say?" Rosalie demanded to know. "What are you getting at?"

"I'm getting at the fact that Bella didn't deserve this fucked life. She could have been great. She could have been clean. All of you could have been clean, but your dad, he caused this. When Renee left him, he dragged you all down with him! He destroyed you all!"

I earned myself a hard slap across the face and insults been hurled at me in Charlie Swan's defense as Emmett dragged Rosalie from the room for that.

I didn't care. It had to be said. Their father ruined them.

In my situation, I didn't have a choice. I was born into blood and money but Charlie could have shielded his kids from his type of life. Chasing bad guys and doing what they had to do to get us. They had no life. They didn't know normalcy.

What was great about normal? I didn't know. But right the fuck now, I craved it.

And I wanted it for Bella too.

"You are always so good at making women go crazy over you, Jasper." I turned and saw her standing there. And as Carmen Cortez stood there in her cream jumpsuit with matching trench coat, and black heels that were tall enough to make her seem taller than her 5'4 height with a face as beautiful as an angel and a body as alluring as always, I realized she was looking at no one but the girl on the bed.

This was going to be a big problem because I knew that look and there was no fucking way, I didn't care how fucking obsessed she was with my woman, I was not handing Bella over to her.

Carmen came to stand beside me. "My little Bella saw death, didn't she?" she said in a quiet voice.

"What's it to you, Carmen?" I sneered. I address what she had said. I didn't greet her. I just wanted her gone. Seeing her here acting like Bella meant the world to her, that shit was in her vicious, pretty, brown eyes, I suddenly felt jealous and that didn't sit well with me 'cause I didn't fucking share. I didn't know what happened between her and Bella in Mexico after she rescued Bella from the Mendez's and that shit bothered me.

Carmen chuckled darkly. "What's wrong, Jasper?"

She ran her hand down my shoulder to my right ass cheek and squeezed. "Still so firm…mmm…you always had a nice ass, Jasper." I stepped away, putting a little distance between us. "So sensitive, Whitlock. Since when I can't touch you when I feel like it? I think we have played enough to make things interesting."

She was right. We fucked around and fucked each other a lot in the past. But that was the past. My present was about Bella. Someone I was determined not to share with Carmen because I knew she was a fucking nutcase who loved to possess people like they were objects.

And 'no' wasn't in her vocabulary.

I didn't answer and she giggled and changed the subject. She walked over to Bella, running a hand through her hair. "She's even more beautiful than the last time I saw her," she said with adoration coloring her tone. I fucking hated it. Once Carmen set her sight on someone or something it was hard to keep the object away from her. She always got things her way.

And I was determined to make her lose this time.

Bella was mine.

I stomped over to her, grabbed her by the upper arm with force, but instead of groaning in pain like a normal person, Carmen laughed like I tickled her as I dragged her from the room. "Oh Jasper, how rough!" She teased. "Don't want me around my little Bella?" She looked at me with feral, calm eyes as I took her to my office downstairs.

I was on dangerous grounds. We had walked past her men out there and one order from her, the small army in my living room would kill us all and then Carmen would take Bella.

I should be taking things easy and treading softly since I was dealing with one of the most dangerous women on earth.

Carmen was the type to skin you alive while smiling. She didn't know mercy. Only power and dominance. This was why her father, Eleazar, loved and respected her so much. She was just as much of a psychopath as he was.

I let her go and she staggered a bit then righted herself. "Your little Bella?" I asked her. It burned me to call Bella hers because she was mine.

"Yes," she said, goading me. " _My_ little Bella is such a pretty little thing, isn't she, Jasper?"

Our families have been in dealings for years. I should remember this. And it would be a shame to kill Eleazar's daughter because over a woman. We had been good to each other. We had sold the Cortez's high quality weapons, and sometimes, they assisted us in finding a few strays who thought running over the border would protect them from me and Pop when they crossed us.

Eleazar had always been happy with our business and Carmen loved to act like she could possess me. But as we stood here, she was walking in dangerous territory now. Bella was not hers. Never would be. She would never possess her as long as I breathed. Whatever happened in Mexico was going to stay there between them. Bella was mine now and that was all that mattered.

I knew Carmen would want to kill me once she realized I wasn't willing to give Bella to her. If someone was standing in the way, she would remove them. It was her way of things.

"Yeah, Bella is a pretty little thing."

She pushed her body up against me, rubbing herself on me. "Is she _your_ pretty little thing, Jasper?" she asked and then licked my cheek. "Is she?" she whispered harshly.

"If I were to say yes, then what, Carmen?"

Emmett and Rosalie along with Leah and Edward came into my office while Carmen continued to assault my face with her tongue. They looked shocked but tried to hide it. They shouldn't be. They knew Carmen was unhinged and had a delicate temperament. She could lose it in a second if things weren't going her way.

I should be cautious, but I couldn't be. I had enough to handle. I wouldn't kill her because killing her and causing her father to wage war on me and my family would be nothing but an unfortunate distraction for me right now. So I pushed her away and turned my back to her while she laughed aloud. I was itching to pull my gun on her. "Dios mio! Jasper, you like her, don't you?"

I was through hiding. "And if I do?" I turned to her and said, staring straight into her crazed, beautiful brown eyes.

"You shouldn't," she grew serious and said with conviction.

"Why is that?"

"She is mine," Carmen said with finality. "I found her. I saved her. She is mine!"

Her breaths were coming hard. Almost in pants as she started to pace. She was looking between me and the ground and then back at me. She was quickly losing it because she realized I wasn't even entertaining the idea of giving Bella to her.

If she tried anything, I would not be held responsible for my actions. She started it.

I sat on the edge of my desk and stared at her without saying a word. This only angered her. She found it unsettling. "I don't care what you're thinking, Jasper! I will have her!" She shouted.

I didn't answer that. "You know me, don't you, Carmen?" I said in a calm tone.

"Yes." She sneered.

I remained calm. "And you know what I'm capable of, don't you?"

"You'll be dead soon, Jasper." She dismissed me with a wave of her hand and a roll of her eyes. "Then what? Huh?" She questioned. "Bella will be mine, Jasper, whether you like it or not. Not that I care about what you want. Only Bella matters. That's why I am here for her sister. I have to stay in Bella's good graces by saving Rosalie from the bloodbath that's approaching. Your time is almost up, Whitlock." She giggled like a deviant while I continued to watch her. How could someone so beautiful be as crazy as a rabid dog? I wonder.

Carmen went on. "Unfortunately, I also have to take your little boyfriend too," She nodded toward Emmett. "I am doing all this for Bella. So let's not argue. Just let my men go and get Bella because I am not leaving without her."

I rose from the edge of my desk, pulling my gun out and slowly advancing on her. "You're not taking her."

"She's not yours," Carmen said, her eyes flaring with something crazed as she pulled her gun and pointed it at me. I walked right up to the mouth of her golden .327 Magnum revolver.

"She is." Fuck treading softly. We pointed our guns at each other's heads while we stared at one another. I would kill her. I wasn't about let her kill me before I killed Aro. I was going down but I had to take that motherfucker down with me.

"No! I'll kill you!" I moved faster than she anticipated and grabbed her. I disarmed her, twisting her arm behind her back and slamming her face first down on my desk. I kept her arm at an odd angle. If I moved in the right place, it would snap. She shouted and screamed at me. I heard triggers being cocked and saw Leah holding a pump rifle at Carmen's men while Emmett, Rosalie and Edward had guns trained on them.

"She is mine!" Carmen screamed at me.

"She is not! She is a person, Carmen!" I shouted back at her deluded ass.

"I will kill you all!" She roared then proclaimed, "I won't leave without her!"

"Yes you will, Carmen," Bella's voice sounded behind us. I snapped my head around and saw her in Carlisle's arms. She looked sleepy but her eyes held strength as Carmen weakened her stance against me when she heard Bella's voice.

She actually started to whine. "But I don't want to. You belong with me, little Bella."

"I know you think so, Carmen, but I have to stay. There is work to be done," Bella said with as much strength as she could muster.

"Jasper, back off." Bella told me. I didn't want to. "Please," Bella said softly. "Let me handle this."

I stepped back but I was ready for Carmen if she tried anything. She wouldn't make it out of here alive if she did.

Carmen ran to Bella's side while Carlisle lowered her to the floor, letting her stand, but lean on him for support. Carmen sneered at Carlisle and he looked at her like he wanted to knock her the fuck out so she focused on Bella.

It was like watching a child; a deranged one with an army of men ready to kill us.

"But Bella, he's going to die. I know you think you like him but he's as good as dead."

"Like I said, I have a job to do, Carmen," Bella told Carmen. I liked how she ignored the part about me dying. I figured it was because she wanted to kill me herself. "So take Rosie and Emmett. Keep them safe for me. When you hear from me, let them go. Rosie will find her way. She'll know what to do from there." Carmen was shaking her head no. She stepped close to Carmen and took her by the shoulders and shook her, forcing her to look into her eyes. "Carmen, my Spanish princess, I need you to do this. I need your help."

"You need me?" Carmen said with innocence. Of course she would hear that part.

"Yes," Bella said. "I need you to do this and I even have a gift for your troubles. A new toy."

Carmen lit up while I was confused as hell. What toy?

Bella looked at Edward. "Edward, go and get Carmen's toy from the basement."

He looked confused for a second before it dawned on him and he left.

"Is it fun?" Carmen asked with glee while she played with Bella's hair.

"It's very fun. You can have as much fun as you want with it. It has been bad and needs to be punished."

Alice. She was giving Alice to Carmen. Oh fuck!

Edward didn't take too long to come back with a kicking and screaming Alice. She had been bound and gagged.

When Edward dropped Alice to the floor, Carmen ran from Bella and she almost fell. I ran to her side, catching her before she could hit the ground. She leaned on me for support, closing her eyes and taking a breath before she turned to an enthusiastic Carmen and said, "See? Doesn't she look like a fun toy?"

Alice's eyes were pleading with us not to do this. She had to know about Carmen and her sadistic ways. As did Bella which was why she was handing Alice over to her.

"I was going to play with her for a while, but when I heard your voice, I couldn't think of a better present for all your troubles. You didn't have to help me. You didn't have to want me, but you do and I thank you, Carmen."

While she stroked Alice's hair, Carmen looked at Bella with admiration as she ate up her words.

"You are more than welcome, but I would have wanted you to come along too," Carmen said with a pout. "I see no reason to want Jasper. Why do you want a dead man? Why not want someone who can give you life?"

"The heart wants what it wants," Bella said, lacing her fingers with mine. My heart actually skipped a beat while I pretended she meant that shit. "I have to stand with him, Carmen."

Carmen left Alice and came to Bella. She leaned in and I fought to stand still as she kissed Bella's lips. Bella responded with a peck on her lips before she moved away.

Carmen looked at me with scorn. "If you get her killed, kill yourself before I get my hands on you because I would skin you alive."

With that, Carmen took Alice and her small army and after a farewell between Rosalie and Bella, she and Emmett followed Carmen out.

I stood there in shock at how Bella had just negotiated Carmen's departure without bloodshed. I was about to ask her how she did it when she collapsed in my arms.

I took her upstairs while Carlisle cursed about stitching her up again but he did it anyways.

And now as I sat here watching her sleep, I wondered what she was going to say when she woke up. We still hadn't talked.

I fell asleep wondering.

A pillow hit me hard, waking me up. "What the fuck, Bella?"

"Shut up, asshole," she said. "That's the least of what I am going to do to you."

I smirked. "I think I proved I can take you."

"Yeah, bringing my supposedly dead sister to distract me during a fight counts as you taking me." She scoffed and then coughed. "Don't worry we'll have our knife fight, bitch."

"Why is everything about killing with you?"

"Look who's talking. A murdering son of a bitch." She rolled her eyes at me.

I sighed. "Look, Bella…I…"

"How long did you know about me?"

"Listen, maybe we should take this slow." I wanted to tell her the truth my way.

She wasn't having it. "No. We're going to talk now. We're going to tell the fucking truth. No matter how much it hurts. War is coming. We don't have time to sugarcoat anything." She looked at me with nothing but hate as she said the final bit. "Beside this won't make you any less my enemy."

My heart sank.

"Fine." I sneered. "Ask what you want."

She sighed and looked down at her hands. She didn't want to look me in the eye. If this was how she wanted it, it was fucking fine by me. I was hurt. I was man enough to admit that shit to myself but I wasn't about to show her. I could be cold and distant and she damn well knew so in the short time she had known me.

"So it wasn't Caius?" she said.

"No, it wasn't Caius."

"Had it ever been Caius?"

She wanted to know if Aro's cousin had been involved somehow so I gave her the truth.

"He had a deal with another agency."

"Which one?" Bella asked, firing the questions as fast as I answered them.

"Your sister's."

"The CIA?" She sounded surprised.

"I know a lot more than you, Bella." I boasted out of spite. "I've got better connections."

She looked at me then and I was smirking at her with nothing but malice. She cut her eyes and looked back at her hands.

"What's so fascinating about your hands?"

"Why do you ask?"

I felt smug so I told her. "It seems like you're trying to avoid looking me in the eye. Are you scared to, Bella?"

She laughed and looked at me then. "No, I'm not. And if I'm looking at my hands it's because it's the only way I can handle hearing your voice and not spring off this fucking bed and kill you where you sit, you motherfucker. I need to know the truth. All of it. I came back for this. I am staying and seeing this bloodbath through until the end. It doesn't matter who falls, if it's all of you, I'd be a happy girl," she said with a sadistic smile.

"Duly noted." I shrugged.

"Good!" she said in a happy tone. "Now, what was Caius' deal with the CIA?"

I told her and then I told her about his cousin, Aro, killing him because he thought he was the snitch, ruined a part of what the CIA had planned for us. There was no real love lost in losing Caius. He was sadist and murderer like his cousin Aro.

She was silent for a while. Then came the big question. "How did it start?"

I didn't have to ask her to be clear. I knew exactly what she meant. "James came to me. I still don't know why he did it like that but he came to me."

Bella pushed herself up on the pillows and a side of me wanted to help her when I saw her struggle to. But she wouldn't want the help. I was a parasite so why offer to touch her?

She became more interested at the mention of her beloved brother, James. I sounded like a bastard in my own head for thinking about him in a sarcastic way but I couldn't help but feel like I was in competition with a dead person. If I was being a son of a bitch, I would make a comment about her fucking her brother while he was alive; like they were in some twisted incestuous relationship.

It would have been a shitty thing to do and couldn't be further from the truth.

I shook the fucked up thought out of my head because it was nothing but jealousy fueling me to think that shit.

"Did you hear what I said?" Bella asked, waving a hand in front of me. She looked angry but also concerned. Well, there was a surprise. She was concerned about me. I knew she was hiding behind her 'I don't care' façade, but fuck if I was going to waste time I didn't have getting her from behind it. She was a big girl. She knew what was good for her.

"I was thinking."

"About what so that you couldn't hear a word I said?" She chuckled. "If this is how you are, then the Chekovs aren't going to have any problem sneaking up on your ass and ripping everything you hold dear away from you before they kill you."

"Fuck you, Bella!" I lost it and shouted at her. I knew what was going to happen. I didn't need reminding. Especially from her. "Why do you think you're here?"

"I don't know." She shrugged.

"Because you are one of the people I'm protecting." I told her. "Yes, James came to me. And I was fucking surprised but I was also relieved. When James and I put our differences aside and spoke, we realized we were in the same situation. Neither one of us were going to make it out of this shit alive so it was best to get the ones we hold dear out before they died."

She moved to interrupt me. "Shut the fuck up and listen to me!"

Her eyes told me she wanted to retort but she stayed silent, obeying my command to do so.

"James had valuable information for me. Shit I needed in order to move forward with my plans. I was sick of everything. I didn't lose my backbone. I'm not a punk bitch. I was just fucking tired of it. Some mobster kids would love this shit; live and die for what their father want them to be. I am not. So Pop and I fight the whole way. On everything." I sighed and ran a hand over my face before looking into her curious eyes again. Damn, they were so brown and I really wanted to kiss her. But I couldn't. "Yes, I'm his enforcer, Bella. Yes, I'm as crazy as he is. But I wanted a life outside of it all. And the deeper shit got, and when I realized my little brother was idolizing me and wanted to be what I am, I thought, "This is it. I'm done." One of us had to make it out. Michael might think this is the life for him, but it isn't. And I only have a few days left to prove him wrong and show him another way. Maybe my death will make him change his mind. I don't fucking know."

I hated revealing myself to her like this. She didn't care. I was as good as dead to her and she was probably going to dance on my grave. But it had to be done.

I got up and started to pace at the foot of the bed while I spoke. Bella remained silent through it all.

"James and I worked out times to see each other. We exchanged information during those times and he planned how things would go down. He knew about Alice and Banner," She looked shocked but stayed quiet as I continued. "Which was why he never gave her all she wanted to know. Don't think for a second she didn't try her best to swindle information out of him."

She broke her silence. "Jamie told you this?"

"Yeah. Ironically, it was the day I met you." She looked at me suspiciously and I smiled. "Or I should say, I meant your picture. You were so fucking beautiful to me. I had never seen someone so innocent and beautiful. All the women I have been with have been fake. Whether it was the fucking makeup or the nip and tuck here and there to make 'em look like dolls, I don't know. I just looked at your picture on the wall of that house ya'll met at and I saw a beautiful girl I wanted to know. James was quick to tell me no. He had acknowledged by then that we could die. Maybe together if we were found out, or one before the other, and he anticipated it would probably be him going first so he warned me against going after you. He said if he were going to be around he would never allow you to date me even though we were so much alike."

My voice had gotten softer as I spoke of her brother and when I looked at her, I expected the hard edged woman who wanted to kill me, instead I saw the girl from the picture. Her eyes were filled with tears and the innocence and beauty I had admired, adorned her face.

I looked away and continued. "James also told me you would come for me. And in a crazy way, I thought it would be better if you killed me instead some other bastard."

"Why?" I heard her say since I had my back to her and had wandered over to the window.

"At least I would be killed by someone I loved."

"How can you love me? You don't know me," Bella countered.

I turned to her. "I know you. I know what you like. I know what you love. I know what bothers you and I wish I was going to be around long enough for you to finally realize how you feel about me."

"What makes you think I haven't?" she asked in a somber tone.

"Why won't you admit it?"

"Love makes you weak," she said as if it justified something. But I realized this was a conviction of hers. She truly believed it. "It gets in the way. If it didn't, my dad would be a happily married man to a woman who actually wanted him. Wanted me and my siblings. If love mattered, Alice wouldn't have sold my brother out and your father wouldn't have forced your hand until you joined him in the family business," she continued with disdain. "Most of all, Jamie would be here."

"And what about you?" I asked. "What does Bella want?"

"A normal life where she's a nurse or a librarian not a killer who would do anything to get her target," she answered without missing a beat. "Who would you be?"

"A financial adviser like my mother wanted me to be. Maybe I would have met a beautiful nurse or librarian one day and married her under better circumstances."

She didn't answer but she smiled.

"Who killed my brother, Jasper?" It was the first time I heard my name fall from her lips without malice in fucking days and that shit felt good.

"Aro and Jane," I told her and then went on to tell her what exactly went down. How James was beaten by the time I got wind of Aro holding him in one of my warehouses and how Jane shot him in the head before I could save his life.

She cried while I spoke and I didn't even realize I had moved to the bed until she took my hand in hers and squeezed. I squeezed back in support. "I want to kill them. I want them dead. I don't know when you're going to do it but I want in."

"You got it." I wondered so I asked.

"Bella?"

"You do know who Aro is, right?"

She looked me in the eye. "Do you?"

"Yes."

"Was it James who told you?"

I nodded. "It wasn't like I didn't suspect it. James just put the pieces of the puzzle together for me."

She sighed and sobbed a little. "How did he know?"

"He found out from your mother when he went to see her after you had gone and she had upset you."

She was stunned. "You know about that?"

"Yes."

"That fucking snitch!" She laughed with tears in her eyes. I bravely wiped a tear away, half expecting her to bite my finger off for touching her, but she didn't. "Why would he tell you?"

"I don't know." I did. James said someone had to be there for Bella when she found out he knew and he thought I was the best person. I told him he was fucked in the head at the time. Now I was glad I could be here for her.

"Do you know my mother?" She asked and I nodded yes. "How?"

"I saw her with your father a few times. She idolized my mother and thought she could be in her position some day."

"My mother isn't a good person, Jasper. I mean I know that. I just thought…" She shook her head no.

"You thought what?"

"She would at least care about her kids, you know. She would have stayed for us. But she just left, Jasper." She cried. "I was a little girl, sitting on a sidewalk, crying after a mother who didn't want me. Wait! Was he the one who came for her?"

"I don't think so. He had moved on by then I think," I tried to explain. "He likes them young, Bella. So I ask again, will you be able to?"

"Able to what? Kill my father?" She sneered and gripped my hand tightly.

"Yes."

She looked away from me, staring out the window. "I might be a Volturi by birth, Jasper, but I am Charlie Swan's daughter. I always will be. So yes, I know Aro is my biological father and I will have no problem ending his life for what he has done."


	21. Changes

_**Bella Swan Volturi, 2006**_

I woke up and found Jasper beside me. His hand was carefully lying on my hip and he was slightly curling around me. Like he wanted to cuddle me and I wasn't sure how to feel about it. I wanted to like it but I knew I also hated him being this close to me. Still being angry at him for lying to me, made me feel vindictive, so with as much strength as I could find, I kicked him out of the bed.

He fell to the floor with a thud and cursed. "What the fuck, Bella?"

"Get out!" I said, before he could say anything. His eyes were lit with anger. The pale moonlight coming through the window shone in them as I watched them darkened with his rising temper. Poor baby. He thought I would want him near me? I wanted to rip him limb from limb! So I didn't care if he bruised his ass from the fall. I hoped he did. "I want to be alone."

He didn't ask me why. He just got up while cursing under his breath and went out the door, slamming it shut behind him as he left me alone. Good! But Jasper was a stubborn son of a bitch.

The next morning, he came back. I wasn't feeling any better about things. In fact, I was outraged. Lying in bed, I stared up at the ceiling while contemplating getting up and ripping this room apart. It might make me feel better. It might not. I didn't care. I just wanted to feel things breaking under my hand.

Aside from the satisfaction I was sure it would bring me, I also had more questions for Jasper. I have had them all night really. This rabbit hole he and James had me going down was deep and confusing as fuck. I was lying. I wasn't confused, just pissed at them both.

I wanted my questions answered. Jamie was dead, but the second best thing just walked into my room fresh from his shower apparently seeing as he was running a towel through his wet and tousled hair.

I tried not to care how good he looked. I really didn't want to notice the way his jeans rode low on his hips and his hard abs were on display for my viewing pleasure.

I shouldn't be distracted.

But I was.

Damn him.

He smirked at me and I vowed to kill him.

My thoughts switched back to the destruction and mayhem of the room I was in and I smiled, feeling a little better.

"Who does this house belong to?" I asked, looking away from him and the distraction of his fucking body. I hated that he was hot. I hated that I felt like salivating whenever I saw him, clothed or not. I hated that he affected me like no man ever had.

I hated it and loved it all in the same breath.

I was so fucked.

"Why do you want to know?" His deep voice was doing things to me. Things I shouldn't be thinking about right now. Maybe his uncle was giving me something. The doc could be drugging me with a little something extra. Who knows?

As soon as I was good, I was getting out of this place and getting on with my plans. I would get Aro and Jane on my own. I don't know what I was thinking when I offered to help Jasper. I didn't help. And I don't want to help him. I want to kill Aro myself. I despised everything about the motherfucker. I especially hated that we shared DNA.

My fucked up mother. I had to laugh. Only her. Of course she would mess up my life before I was even born because no one mattered to Renee like Renee. It was all about her.

The only thing I needed from Jasper was to know how much he knew about their relationship. Did he know my mother?

But first…let's get him talking and try not to think about him naked.

My eyes traveled down his bare chest to the waistband of his low riding jeans and I gave up on not thinking about him less clothed.

"I'm planning on destroying it."

Jasper laughed. "Don't."

"Why not?" I smiled wickedly.

He grew serious as he drew closer to the bed. I thought about kicking him in the balls when he got close enough, just to distract myself from staring at him, and I don't know if he could read my mind or some shit but he stopped just out of reach and smirked at me.

"Stop the foolishness."

"I didn't do anything."

He ignored that. "I bought this house."

"It's not in the Whitlock name."

He looked amazed. "How did you know that?"

"You think I didn't know you had it?"

"No one hardly…"

"Knew," I finished for him. "They are tracking you through whatever you do as a Whitlock, so tell me, what name did you use to keep this mansion off the books?"

He smiled. "I like you."

"I loathe you."

He laughed. "So you say."

I rolled my eyes. "What name, asshole?"

"Hale."

"That's your maternal grandmother's maiden name, right?"

He nodded. "Yes."

"So why use your nana's name? And what else are you keeping from Poppa Whitlock, Jasper?" I wanted to get him pissed. Maybe we could fight again. Anything to keep me from thinking about dragging him down on this bed with me and doing wild things I knew I would pull out my stitches doing.

"Cause no one would check anything to do with her," he answered. "And yes, I'm keeping a few things from my dad."

"Like?"

"The fact that I'm in love with a woman I'm supposed to kill for more than one reason."

"Why don't you?" I smirked. I'd like to see him try.

He chuckled. "I like how you like to deny what's right in front of you, Bella."

I shrugged. I wasn't about to answer that. Instead I chuckled and changed the subject. "I didn't expect you to tell me the truth about the house so quick."

"Why wouldn't I?" He cocked an eyebrow at me in challenge. It was like he was telling me something.

"What do you mean?"

"It's your house."

To say I was baffled would be an understatement. "I…what the fuck are you talking about?"

He got close now, taking a seat on the edge of the bed. He took one of my feet in his lap and began rubbing it. "You've got nice feet."

"Quit bullshitting me."

He laughed again. "I'm not. You've got nice feet, Bella. And yes, the house belongs to you. Or I should say, it will, once this is all over. Don't worry. No one can trace a thing back to you. Everything in here will be yours once I'm gone."

I tried to ignore the part about him being gone. It didn't sit well with me. So I focused on thinking about the house. The place was massive as Jasper went on to tell me about the five bedroom, four bathroom mansion complete with a wine cellar, two offices, a movie theater, a game room, a bowling alley, and a basement for whatever I wanted to do with it; which was where Alice was being held. I could do whatever I wanted with the place but he said he would prefer I live in it. He said something would have to be done to ensure I get the money though. There was money too? What the fuck! But he said he would talk to me about it later.

I was shocked. I could hardly wrap my head around this place and all it came with; which included the cars, bikes and SUVs in the garage. What would I do with the job? Well, that was easy. After this, I was going to quit. I had to. Whatever Banner was doing now was going to ruin my reputation and this case was going to fuck up my credentials royally in court. But how would I explain owning a mansion and whatever else Jasper willing to give me before walking away.

"I can see you worrying about it," he said with a laugh. "Don't. The FBI won't be able to trace anything to you. And I assume you'll be leaving them?"

I could only nod.

"Then stop worrying. I'm taking care of everything. Whoever else wants to talk afterward, let 'em. They can't do shit to you or anything I leave for you. I'm making sure."

"How high are you going to clear my name?"

To do what he's implicating, he had to have some very powerful backing from some very powerful people.

"How?"

"I have my ways."

"Why would you do this?"

"Cause I love you," he said and got up.

As he stepped away, I asked another question. It had been bothering me and I wanted to know. This wasn't what I wanted to talk about but he bought me a house! "Did you come to my brother's funeral?" I asked while my eyes roamed over his shirtless body. He caught me.

"Like what you see?"

"Shut up."

"It's yours, you know."

I couldn't help the way my heart skipped a beat at his claim of being mine. "I don't want it."

"Yes, you do," he said with finality.

"Were you there?" I really wanted to know.

He grew somber as he made his way back to me. "Why do you want to know?" he asked as he ran a hand up my leg to my hip to my waist to the side of my breast to my neck and stopping at my cheek, swiping away a fallen tear.

"I deserve to."

He held my cheek while staring at me. He said nothing for what seemed like forever. "Yes. I was there," he finally admitted just as I was about to scream at him.

"Why?" More tears fell and he sat down, using his thumbs to wipe them away. I didn't stop him.

"Because I had to be there for you."

"But you're the enemy!" I shouted, slapping his hand away when he moved to wipe away more tears. "I'm your enemy! I'm Aro's child! If I wasn't FBI…what if I was his? What if he knew about me and he wanted me to be like him and I was? Would you still be like this? Wanting me despite it all? Would you?!"

His answer baffled me. The sincerity in his voice spoke volumes as he said, "Yes."

I pulled away from him. "Please leave."

Jasper left.

The day passed around me while I laid there deep in thought. Edward visited. Carlisle treated me and spoke to me but I heard nothing. Leah begrudgingly came and sat with me because she wasn't allowed to leave me. Jasper had left the one person I knew would take a bullet for him with me. She was to protect me.

I didn't need to ask myself why. I knew the answer. The 'yes' he had said without a second thought this morning still resonated through every doubt that tried to rise in opposition against his…his love for me.

He knew who I was. Who I truly was, and still, he loved me and wanted to protect me. Despite what I had sworn to do, things I have admitted to him, he loved me. I belonged to his enemy and he still loved me.

I fell asleep with nothing but Jasper on my mind.

It was late when I woke up. I was tired of being in bed. Carefully, I got up, grunting in pain when I placed my feet on the carpeted floor. I took a deep breath and pushed myself up. When I stood, I staggered back but gained my bearings and stood straight. With a couple more deep breaths, I made it to the door and opened it. The hall outside of my room was quiet. I stepped out and turned left, making my way to the stairs. I was hungry. There had to be something in the kitchen. I felt like I hadn't eaten in months.

Each step down the stairs was agonizing as fuck and I swore up and down I would start working on my form in the morning as I took each one. I needed to get back on my feet. The shit was about to hit the fan around Jasper and his family. It wasn't going to wait until I felt better and was up for killing motherfuckers. I needed to pony the fuck up and get with the program. Fast.

"What are you doing out of bed?" I hated the accusing tone his voice took. I wasn't a fucking child.

"Go fuck yourself, Whitlock!" I sneered as he met me at the bottom of the stairs in the dark. "You scared the crap out of me!" He did. "Why are you walking around the dark, you freak?"

He chuckled and climbed the final step, wrapping a hand around my waist without my permission and then doing something I thought he was crazy for doing. "Here, hold on to this," he said as he gave me his gun before lifting me up in his arms.

"I could shoot you," I stated. We both knew it was a fact.

"I know."

But he trusted me not to. In fact, it was baffling enough he gave me his personal weapon to hold. No one was allowed to touch Jasper's guns.

"Where do you want to go?"

"Kitchen," I told him, placing an arm around his neck. I tightened my grip on his gun and he cocked an eyebrow at me. "Don't worry, I won't hurt you."

"Good to know." He chuckled as we made our way to the kitchen.

"Good. Besides, I wouldn't need help if someone hadn't stabbed me."

He rolled his eyes. "How would you have gotten you out of the warehouse and made them believe you were still a prisoner then?"

Again. He surprised me. "That's what this is?"

He placed me on the counter and flipped the lights on. The first thing I noticed was how casual he was dressed. No suits. Then again, he wasn't wearing one this morning either. It's the same pair of jeans from this morning and a smile dark blue shirt with black boots.

The second thing was the kitchen was huge. Endless deep cherry cupboards and granite countertops throughout. Everything looked new.

"So you bought all of this for me?" I asked with a chuckle. "How did you know how I would like my kitchen?" Did I just stake a claim on this place? Jasper noticed it too and smiled.

"I took a wild guess. But whatever you don't like, you can change."

"That's assuming I accept this extravagant gift."

"You accept it."

"How presumptuous of you!" I laughed.

"I'm living on the edge when it comes to you, Bella," he said with a smile.

"I'm really hungry," I said, effectively changing the subject.

"How about ham and cheese?" Jasper said with a smile. It was…innocent and beautiful.

"Sounds good," I said, returning the smile while letting my guard fall. _Enough was enough. It was time I accepted the truth._ I thought as I watched him prepare sandwiches for the both of us.

He came for me and without a fight I accepted his help as he transported me from the counter to the table. "Thanks," I said when he placed the plate with my sandwiches in front of me along with a glass of milk. He was being so kind and it made me want to cry.

I tried to push the thought of doing it away. I was too in touch with my emotions right now and I needed to get a handle on it. But when he took a seat across from me, I reached for his hand and squeezed it for dear life. Looking in his eyes as he glanced at me, I knew he would understand if I said...

"I feel like I'm about to explode."

"Why?" There was nothing but concern in his voice while my words were choking me.

"I don't…" I tried. "I don't…" I tried again. I wanted to say it. It was on the tip of my tongue. I just had to get it out.

I closed my eyes tight. I didn't let go of his hand because I needed to know he was right here with me. Suddenly, there was this weight on my chest so I repeated, "I feel like I'm about to explode."

Jasper shuffled. Our joined hands as he came closer. I didn't dare open my eyes because if I looked at him, I would lose whatever bit of sanity I had left because this was insane. I shouldn't feel this way about this man, yet, here I was, about to admit something I couldn't deny any longer. There were no more excuses. I had run out of them.

"Bella, please." His voice was sweet and pleading. "Tell me what's wrong, baby."

Oh God. I wanted to die when he called me that. Not from disgust but from the joy of being someone dear to him.

"Open your eyes," he commanded softly. "Trust me," he said. "Just open your eyes. I'm right here. Talk to me."

Trust me? Could I trust him? Yes.

Slowly, I opened them. Jasper was kneeling in front of me, looking up at me in concern. "Tell me what's wrong," he coaxed.

I looked at him, trying to mesmerize the look of concern mixed with sympathy and love on his face. I stared into his blue eyes as they held brown ones in an almost trance. He had that power over me and I was giving in.

And as I sat there, not saying a thing while Jasper patiently waited, I pictured the same blue, expressive eyes he was gazing at me with, dead and void of life.

I tried to feel the peace or satisfaction I thought it would bring me when I started out on this mission to avenge my brother. It wasn't there. I could feel nothing but pain. It felt like my chest was about to cave in. Like my heart wanted to stop beating and I cried out, clutching my chest and doubling over in pain from the mere thought of Jasper dead and gone, leaving me here.

"Bella!" He shouted. He pushed me back. He was glaring at me now. "Tell me where it hurts! Do you want me to go and get Carlisle?" He was frantic.

"No!" I cried. "Don't leave," I said quietly.

"What?" He fought to hear the last bit. He placed his hands on my face, cradling it gently. "Tell me."

"Please…" I begged him. "Don't leave."

"Okay," he said even though he still looked like he wanted to go and get Carlisle. "What do you need?"

He thought I was in pain from my injuries. "I don't want you to go."

"I won't."

"No." I cried. "You will. You want to."

"You said…" He was confused.

"I don't need Carlisle," I pushed myself to say as I tried to make him understand. "I need…I need you."

"I'm right here."

"Don't go." I got out.

"I won't."

"You will." I pulled my face away and slumped back in my chair. I was angry now. "I don't want you to…"

"Bella, just spit it out." He was frustrated and it was cute.

"I want you to stay," I said. "I don't…I don't want you to die."

The weight of my words hit us both. Or the implication of them did. Jasper got up from in front of me, but never took his eyes off of me as he went back to his seat. We were silent. None of us willing to break it for fear of what the other would say but I needed to know so I broke it. "I know I spent most of my time professing my hate for you while you tried to come to terms with why you cared about me, and I want to say I'm sorry for putting you through that. I'm not a good person, Jasper. I don't get why you fell for me, I don't think I have anything profound to offer you, but then again, you aren't perfect either and I…I like that." I couldn't believe I was getting this out. "I was looking at you just now, the way you look at me and I realize how painful it would be to lose you. I was trying to find the peace and satisfaction I was supposed to feel when I got the guy who took Jamie away, but the thought of you dying like he did, the thought of you leaving me before I could say…I just couldn't deal with it."

He was staring at me and for a minute I thought he would burst out laughing like this was something he wanted me to admit. Like he had been playing me for a fool.

I didn't have to wait long. Jasper got up, stretching across the table to pull me into a kiss. I let him kiss me because I needed him to. I wanted to feel his lips on mine and the way it made my heart skip a beat.

When he pulled away, we both sighed. "I love you, Bella, and I'm glad you can admit how you feel about me leaving…" I could hear it coming.

"But?"

"But, I know this isn't going to end well," he said sadly at first then bravely continued, "I made a decision and I have to see it through. I will get you out. I promise I will, but I have to do this."

I didn't answer. I was getting angry. He didn't have to. He was just set in his way. He was just fucking stubborn.

"Please say something," Jasper said as he tried to take my hand. I yanked it away because I was stubborn to and I had come to a decision.

"Too bad," I said. "Because I love you and I'm not going to let you die. I came back from somewhere I didn't even think existed. I saw my brother. I felt the peace that place brought, and yes, I would go back. But now I realized I won't go without you and it is not time. Not mine and definitely not yours! So I don't give a damn about some decision you made. I love you, Jasper Whitlock! And you're not going to die. Not if I have anything to say about it."

"Bella…"

I ignored him. Fuck whatever he was about to say. "Do you hear me? You're not going to die!"

I started crying again, and he came over to me, pulling me into his arms.


	22. Pawn

_**Bella, 2006**_

Jasper held me while we sat on the floor. He held me until all the hiccups were gone and until the tears had dried up. Until nothing but the sound of his breathing made sense to me. And it was the best thing we had ever done. The truest thing I had done since I met him. And when my stomach growled, he chuckled and lifted us from the floor, placing me back in my seat where I sat and ate, trying not to meet his eyes. I felt shy and embarrassed for some reason. Probably because I had never been this open with anyone.

I felt so exposed.

"Stop hiding." Jasper chuckled and said.

"I'm not," I replied with a pout, making him laugh.

"You are," he said.

I scoffed but didn't deny his claim. Instead I finished my sandwich and drank my milk. Then I watched Jasper clear the dishes. I sat and watched as he washed them, dried them and put them away. When he was through, he grabbed a bottle of water and came back to me. He pulled me up and out of my seat, holding me close. I stared into his eyes. There was so much emotion in them. He felt so much. A lot more than I ever have. I felt inadequate standing here in his presence.

What did he see in me?

Jasper didn't allow my stray thoughts to distract me for long. He leaned in and I pushed myself up on my tiptoes to meet his lips in a kiss. I kissed him with everything in me.

This was a man I was supposed to hate.

Not anymore.

Now I was going to do everything I could to save him.

Jasper tried to get me to go back upstairs. I vehemently refused. I didn't want leave him. Didn't want to take my eyes off of him. I felt like he would disappear if I did.

When I told him this, to say he was shocked by my blunt honesty, but also relieved by it, would be an understatement. Confessing my true feelings to him seemed to lift the weight he had been carrying around off his shoulders.

We sat on the couch in the equally oversized living room, in the dark, with only the fire in the fireplace as light. Jasper kept my feet in his lap while we talked. We had to do it now because finding time to sit and have a heart to heart while trying not to get murdered will prove to be difficult from here on out.

After tonight, everything will be about plans and execution. I would be doing what was necessary to avenge Jamie and keep Jasper alive in the same breath. It was something I couldn't fail at. I didn't have the luxury to. There would be no do over. If I failed, I would lose him.

I couldn't.

He pressed me for answers whenever he saw a worried look on my face. I didn't even know I had those until Jasper pointed out the way my eyes squinted and my eyebrows frowned with what he deciphered was worry.

The man owned me. I hated and loved it.

I lied about over thinking about us or some shit. I couldn't tell him everything. Half of my plans would bring out his need to protect me. I could see that shit. He wanted to save me from me.

I couldn't allow it. Not yet. Not if I wanted him alive and not in a box like my brother.

The plans I was hatching, he would revoke most of them, even if they were for his own good. So after a few scrutinizing glances, he continued to talk and I let him while answering accordingly.

"You're going to tell me what you're thinking about," he told me. It wasn't a request. It was an order and I didn't take too kindly to it. No one ordered me around.

"I don't think so," I countered with a glare.

He smiled. "Yes you will."

"Fucker," I mumbled and he laughed. The sound of it was rich and strong as it bounced off the walls.

We continued to talk. I let myself get lost in his words and the way he looked when he smiled or stared into my eyes. There were little quirks about him I liked. There was hardly anything I didn't like about Jasper. But as good as it was to sit here and just be with him, my mind came going back to my plans. I couldn't help it. I always worked out a strategy before executing my plans. Some parts of this mission, my new mission, would be dangerous. He could handle it. His moves won't be easy either. He would have to betray his dad and brother. He would have to go against what they believe in order to save them.

But there was a problem. A crossroad for me and Jasper.

I would be a part of his problem when it came to saving Nicky Whitlock because I wanted him dead, and Jasper wanted his father to make it out…alive.

I didn't see a reason why. I would compromise when it came to Michael, but he was on his own when it came to Nicky Whitlock. I wanted nothing to do with that man beside to kill him.

When our talk took us there, we started to argue.

"Bella, that's my father!" Jasper disputed. He was dead serious and had been for a minute or so when I casually suggested leaving his father to his own devices. In my eyes, Nicky Whitlock was a bastard. He may be under the delusion his childhood friend, Aro, was true to him, but Jasper and I knew Nicky was just his puppet. Aro was going to get rid of him.

"And he killed himself when he ordered my brother's hit!" I added.

"Keep your fucking voice down!" Jasper commanded.

"Screw you!" How dare he? "I'm not your fucking child! Don't tell me what to do!"

I tried to get up but he just dragged me back down on the couch. I huffed but otherwise sat down. I couldn't believe I was willing to save this jackass. I had to fall for the most stubborn guy I could meet. I was seriously fucked in the head.

"I'm seriously questioning keeping you alive," I grumbled and Jasper chuckled.

"I'm seriously questioning why I had to fall for a woman who was as much a cold hearted bastard like me?"

I liked the compliment so I smirked. "I'm happy you approve."

I was coldhearted. I wasn't going to deny it. I was willing to help him alive, but I wanted his father dead.

"I'm still going to try and save my pop though, Bella."

I shrugged. "Try."

"Are you going to try and kill him if I do?" His voice was edgy. Enough so that I didn't really want to answer. But I wasn't a coward so I looked at him without a word. I let him look deep into my eyes, seeing the truth. When he had enough, he smiled and said, "You wouldn't be you if you didn't try."

"I wouldn't be." He should know who his enemies will be if he saved his father. I would go after Nicky if he made it out alive. And if Jasper didn't stand in the way, I would succeed where others failed. And he stood in my way, I would have to maim him to get what I wanted.

"He won't be easy to kill," he forewarned me.

"He's flesh and blood," I countered.

Jasper chuckled darkly. "Pop's like me, Bella. He's not going down without a fight."

"Good to know."

We changed the subject because we were getting nowhere when it came to Nicky Whitlock. His son was adamant about keeping him alive and I swore to kill him.

The next topic of discussion wasn't an easy one but we had to talk about it.

Jamie, his death, and the connection between my mother and Aro.

"You know my mother?" I moved back down the couch and crawled back into his arms. He laid us down on the couch while he spoke.

"I met her when she was with Aro."

"Okay, but…"

"What?"

I wanted to know what she was like back then. "What was she like if you were paying attention to her back then?"

"I was. I had to."

I looked up at him in question. "Had to?" What did he mean? Was my mother dangerous?

I learned from Jasper how he met my mother and of her obsession of becoming a mob wife. She wasn't anything like Jane. Just petty theft and drugs. Then he broached the subject of her obsession with his mother.

"So, she was what? Obsessed with your mom?" I felt a little offended, but I could see it. The woman I had meet, her world revolved around her. So if Renee wanted to be a mob wife and couldn't then she became the sweetest revenge, the wife of a lawman.

"I guess. Whenever she came around, she would hang on Mom's every word. She watched every movement like she was studying her. What would you call it?"

"Did she follow her around?"

"Every second while she was in the house," he said without hesitation.

"Did she have a crazy look on her face?" I joked but Jasper was serious.

"If she was high."

"You were a kid. How could you tell?"

"You're really asking me that?"

I wanted to contradict him. I wanted to prove he was wrong but how could I? Renee wasn't a model citizen. She was what Jasper knew. Aro's ex who…

"Wait! She was with him still while she was with Dad?" I was saying it more to myself than him. "My brother and sister are older than me." Jasper stayed quiet while I pieced it together. I have thought about it, but then I denied it. It couldn't be. My dad was innocent in this. Renee was the bad guy unless…

I sat up. In fact, I got up and tried to pace the room. I found myself breathing heavily as the truth started to unravel before my eyes.

"Bella, what's wrong?" Jasper's voice broke through my turbulent thoughts. He took me by the shoulders, forcing me to stop moving. He cradled my face, forcing me to look at him. A light switched on and I turned to see Leah and Edward standing behind us, looking at us questioningly.

"What's going on?" Edward asked. "What's wrong with her?"

I looked at him. I looked at Jasper and said, "Tell me."

"Tell you what?"

"That you didn't know."

"Know what?"

"That my dad…that…Did Jamie know? Did he tell you?"

"James told me about you and I told him what I knew about your mother," Jasper said. "I don't know anything beyond that. I didn't wish to."

"Why?"

"Because I don't agree with your father bringing all of you into it. Whatever fucked up mess was going on, he didn't have the right. He should have left all of you out of it."

I pushed away from him. "Don't insult him!" I was defending him but I was confused about him too. It couldn't be true. Charlie wouldn't do it. He wasn't Renee.

"Bella, I'm right and you know it!" Jasper expressed. "Charlie Swan should have shielded you and James and Rosalie from all of this shit! Not bring you into it like his little soldiers!"

"What about your father?" I fired back.

"Don't you think I'm speaking from experience?" He yelled back. And he was. Jasper would understand if I told him.

I turned away. "You're right." I spoke so softly, I was sure he didn't hear me but he did.

"Right about what?"

"My dad." I couldn't face Jasper as I said it because I was ashamed and I didn't want it to be true.

He wasn't having it. He came to stand in front of me. "Listen, I'm sorry for yelling at you, but you were being an asshole."

I chuckled and looked up at him. "How come you're the only one telling me the truth?"

"Cause I love you." He smiled. "It's turned me into a lovesick pussy."

I laughed shakily. "I wish I could smoke right now. I'm so fucking stressed out."

Jasper ignored that. Wasn't sure why. He smoked. If he thought he was going to stop me, he had another thing coming.

I was trailing off. But it was better than thinking about this clusterfuck I was unraveling.

"Bella, what were asking me? What do you want to know if I know?"

I stared at him while Edward and Leah drew close. I looked at all of them and then said, "I think my father knew about Renee and Aro." It felt so weird to say it. I felt like shit for saying it. Carlisle entered the room. The stoic look on his face was suspicious. It was obvious he had heard me. He looked like he knew every word that was about to come out of my mouth and it left a bitter taste in his mouth.

That couldn't be because I just met him. Unless…. "You know," I said to Carlisle. What the fuck was going on here?

"I know," Carlisle answered without a second thought.

Jasper was confused while Carlisle and I looked at each other like we were locked in the same internal battle. Jasper turned to him. "What the fuck are you talking about, Unc?"

Carlisle answered Jasper calmly. "Bella has apparently just figured out her true paternity. She has pieced this messy shit together and she now sees the real reason why Renee left her behind."

"We were just bargaining chips," I said to them and to myself.

Jasper turned back to me, taking me into his arms. He held me close while a fresh wave of tears flowed down my cheeks. The shock of it was radiating through me. I was so angry I could do nothing but let Jasper hold me. I felt so ashamed and sad. It felt like everything was shutting down inside of me. I felt so heavy in Jasper's arms I didn't realize he had lifted me up and we were moving quickly back up the stairs.

I was placed on a bed. The room looked different from the one I was usually in. My breath was choppy. I could hear ringing in my ears. Edward and Carlisle were frantically moving over me.

Jasper.

I saw him standing off to the side with Leah while Edward and Carlisle talked about me like I wasn't here.

"I was a pawn." I heard myself say. I shook violently with the truth. It was rotten to the core. I was nothing but a pawn to my parents.

Charlie used me and has kept using me because I was the enemy's kid.

Renee wanted to use me as a bargaining chip into Aro's world until she realized he wasn't into the marriage and kids game so she couldn't be a mob boss's wife like Tanya Denali, whom she had obsessively admired.

Jasper came over to me. There was so much noise in my ears I could hardly hear him. But a few words made it through. "Hold on, Bella. It's going to be okay. Just hold on."

The room went white.


	23. Take A Breath

_**Jasper, 2006**_

What the fuck just happened?

Bella and I were talking. We had come to a sort of solution. She had stopped the bull about not feeling anything for me but I knew she was lying her ass off about Pop. If he survived what was coming, Bella was going after him.

We had to agree to disagree there because I wasn't about to stand aside and let her kill my father. And she wasn't going to back down from my challenge. There was a definite thing about Bella. She was like a wolf. And she would never back off because I wanted her to. She did what she thought was right. And she was as stubborn as me so I would be in for a fight.

But what the fuck happened?

How did we go from talking to her fainting?

So Edward and Leah came downstairs. They were eavesdropping on our conversation. Not that I cared. I had Bella. She loved me and I was happy as fuck.

But in the middle of our talk, Bella fucking lost it. She wasn't angry. She was just lost. Literally. It happened after some idea came to her. It was like a fucking light had gone off in her head and then she lost it.

Uncle Carlisle came downstairs at that moment and made things worse when he opened his big mouth and confirmed the shit Bella was mumbling about to be true.

I wanted what she was talking about to be a lie. At least for her sake. I felt the need to protect her from it. The shit was sickening. And I could see how much it hurt her. She had built her life around a lie. She had been nothing but a pawn to her parents.

Apparently Renee wasn't the only sick puppy in Bella's life. Charlie Swan was just nuts as his ex-wife it would seem. And I was a little too right about him.

I didn't want to be. For her sake. But Charlie was just using his kids as his little soldiers. He had gone as far as purposely creating a kid with one of his enemies' ex and that shit was fucked up.

What sick, devious person thought up that? I couldn't do shit like that. I was too straightforward for that crap. If I hated someone, I just took the son of a bitch out because it was between me and that person. I didn't involve family if there was no need to.

And usually there wasn't.

I didn't fuck his wife or his bitch and have a kid by them to prove a point. What kind of point was Charlie Swan trying to prove to Aro by letting Renee go out and get knocked up by him with Bella?

What kind of shit is that?

I had some questions I wanted to ask Charlie in the worst possible way. Even if Bella didn't like the idea of me beating the answers out of her father, I think this sit needed to be addressed. And it wasn't like she didn't want to kill my dad, so what if I beat crap out of hers? It wasn't like I would be doing this for me. Yeah, it would feel good to break Charlie's nose for pulling this sick joke on Bella, but knowing her the way I was getting to, I knew she would want to handle it herself.

After all, she was the one being lied to all these years.

Damn, looking back, I realized James had been harboring this secret too. The sneaky bastard had found out about his sister and Aro and their biological relation.

Oh fuck. No wonder he said there was more to this shit than me and him. These secrets ran deep. The elders in our lives have been hiding all kind of fucked up shit!

What the hell!

Now I understood why Bella passed out. She finally realized the truth. Charlie has always known the truth. She was walking into a situation more dangerous than she had realized. She was about to take down people who were supposed to be family to her. She was conceived for the very same reason. To kill them from the inside.

She was the ultimate snitch. She had the enemy's blood running through her vein but she belonged to his foes.

Charlie knew about his wayward wife. Knew everything about Renee and Aro and he used her. Used her weakness for Aro and wanting to be a part of our world against her.

If my dislike for Charlie hadn't been rising at a rapid level, I would find him ingenious.

That was taking your hate to a whole level. And if what I was thinking was true, he 'let' Renee feel like she was safe enough to seek Aro out. He let her go and she found Aro, the bastard wasn't going to turn pussy away so they got it on and nine months later, Bella was here.

I was thankful for my girl's birth, but not like this. Not as some fucking pawn.

Of all we talked about tonight, this took the cake. I hated the impact it was bound to have on Bella. And my problem was, I was selfish. She told me she loved me and wanted me to stay so I was now entertaining the idea and didn't want anything to fuck it up.

What the fuck was I supposed to do with this? What would I say to her when she opened her eyes? How did I make this okay? She was messed up already. This was going to drive her into another murderous rage!

I was too selfish to let that happen. If by some fucking miracle, I made it out of this alive, I wanted her with me. Truly with me, not in the FBI and definitely not closed off from me because her parents were fucked up.

I didn't give a shit about them. I just wanted her.

She had asked me if Aro knew about her and had trained her ass to be as crazy as he was if I would still want her and I told her yes.

I wasn't lying about that shit. I didn't care if she was Aro's spawn. Bella, the girl I have come to know; the girl with the wavy long hair and beautiful smile from that picture was all that mattered. Having her in my life made me realize how much I really didn't want to die. I didn't want to leave her. The only reason I was willing to give up my life, was family. I thought my sacrifice would ensure their safety. But how could I be sure? What if they were wasted after I died? Also, Bella's admission left me questioning things.

"I can't believe this shit," Carlisle grumbled, interrupting my thoughts while I paced the room and watched him work on her.

"What?" I sneered. He had no right to be pissed. He was the one who made her faint. I wasn't the one who told her the shit she was thinking was true.

Fuck! I didn't even know!

Thank God I didn't! I would have hunted down Charlie and Renee already.

"Are you trying to blame her for this? For passing the fuck out after you said every crazy thing she was saying was true! This is your fault!" I was beyond mad. I moved around the bed and he dashed to the other side.

"Get that crazy look off your face, Jasper!" He ordered. "She caused this!"

"She wasn't angry before!" I seethed. He cocked an eyebrow at me in challenge. "Alright! She was a little angry but not enough to pass the fuck out!"

"Well, she figured it out," he said calmly while he checked her vitals.

I took my chance while he was distracted and grabbed him. I slammed him into the wall and held him there by the throat.

"Let me go!" He sneered, trying to fight me off of him. The asshole was amazing. I was cutting off his air supply and he was still trying to order me around. "Let me the fuck go!"

"Somewhere in your fucked up brain, Unc, you must think I answer to you," I said in a menacing tone as I squeezed tighter. "I don't. Now I'm gonna let you go, but only so you can wake her up. Then you're going to tell us what you know. Am I understood?"

He was about to say something else and it wasn't gonna be nice. I knew my uncle so I squeezed his neck so tight, Edward was begging me to let him go while Leah reasoned that he was Bella's doctor and I didn't know shit about what she would need to get better. It was in Uncle Carlisle's twisted head.

While they talked, I squeezed his neck until his eyes were bloodshot. I ignored Edward and Leah. I was going to let him go because Leah was right, but he needed to understand who ran things around here. "You're going to play nice, Unc. I would hate to have to kill you for this. Am I understood?"

He nodded frantically and I let go, letting him drop to his knees, coughing.

"Take a breath," I told him.

"I want to kill you," he said hoarsely.

"I don't give a shit," I said as I walked away. "Wake her up and start talking 'cause this shit is fucked up."

Carlisle took his time getting to his feet. I had my back to him, but I knew the fucker. He was reaching. By the time, Edward told him to put his gun down, I had mine pointed at him with my finger on the trigger. He knew I would pull it. "Listen to your son and put the fucking gun down, Unc. Don't make me kill you."

"You'd kill your blood for a traitor's kid?" He hissed at me. "You'd fuck your family over for her?!"

I looked at him now. "I'm not fucking you over. You all did that shit to yourselves. She's mine and I'm staking a fucking claim. I'm not trying to use her like you assholes. All of yous, you had no right!"

"She wasn't my problem." Carlisle shrugged as if it made this shit better. "I knew about her. I knew about Renee and her obsession with my sister and becoming a mob wife like her. When I found out about Charlie the CIA agent, I realized Renee popping back up in Aro's life and watching that fucker take her back because he always said she was a good fuck was a trap and it told me trouble was coming."

"And Bella is the trouble you saw coming?" I asked instead of shooting him. I really wanted to too.

Leah moved to the bed and Carlisle and I both followed her.

Bella was awake.

Leah helped her sit up as she eyed Carlisle like she was about to spring on him like a wild animal attacking its food. Leah was armed. She always was. I watched Bella eye the gun on Leah's hip then looked at Edward, who was watching her. He was armed too, but I would kill him in a heartbeat if he moved to hurt Bella. Carlisle was watching her too and I was watching him.

Bella didn't reach for Leah's gun. She took a deep breath after Leah helped her and looked at all of us. Anger was radiating off of her in waves. You could practically feel that shit in the room.

"Is Jasper right, Carlisle?" Bella asked him.

Carlisle sneered at her. "Yeah, that's what I thought. And seeing as my nephew is acting like a lovesick pussy over you, I can't say I was wrong."

I wanted to shoot him. My finger was itching to pull the trigger.

Bella laughed a little. "I'm not Jasper's mother. I might impact some of his decisions but not the ones that affect what matters most. There is only one decision we are disagreeing on now…" I gave her a hard look. And she smiled. "Okay, two decisions, but he and I will figure it out. He loves his family and he is willing to do anything for all of you. Quit being selfish, Carlisle, your sister had a great kid."

"Don't talk about her, you filthy…"

I was across the room and had the gun to his head. I pressed the mouth of it into his temple, while Edward moved forward and Leah stopped him. Bella begged me to put the gun down.

"You must be out of your fucking mind if you think I'm putting shit down!" I shouted at her.

"Let him speak," she said. "Please, I'm weak, I'm tired, heartbroken, angry and scared. You're the only thing that makes sense to me right now. I just…I…Jasper, I need answers. These people know things I need to know. Please, I'm begging you, let him talk despite what he might say about me."

Edward moved to talk and I shouted at him. "Shut up! If I can't kill him, I will kill you if you say shit to defend him. He thinks Bella affects my decisions…" I pulled the other gun from my waist and pointed it at Edward's head. "Let's prove him right."

A worried look passed over Leah's face before she pushed that shit down and pulled out her two guns. She pointed one at Edward and the other at Carlisle.

Edward looked at her in shock. "What?" I asked him. "Leah is loyal. She's family."

He nodded while staring at her. "She is willing to die for you even if she doesn't have to."

"Exactly. That's family," I told Edward while pressing the gun in the side of his father's head. "Leah's not blood but I love her like she was."

Leah looked at me with worry and appreciation in her eyes. "That's why I'm gonna get the woman I see as a sister outta here. I'm not going to let her die for me."

"You don't control me," Leah countered. "I made my choice."

"No one is dying right now!" Bella interjected. "I want you both to put your guns down. Keep them in your hands if it makes you feel comfortable, but please, put them down. We'll have time for killing soon. Trust me. I just want to talk to Carlisle."

Leah and I looked at each other and then lowered our weapons. I wanted to hear what Carlisle had to say. We kept our guns in hand, and my finger was still close to the trigger on the one in my right hand.

"Start talking," I ordered my uncle.

By the time Carlisle stopped talking I was exhausted. This shit was crazy and he knew so much and hadn't said shit. Edward looked at his father in anger and disappointment before he stormed out of the room with Leah chasing after him.

Carlisle had said Renee and Aro picked up right where they had left off when she came back into his life. Carlisle did some digging and found out through some old contacts that Renee had left a husband and two young kids in some small town in Washington to go back to Brooklyn and be with Aro. The twisted romance went on for a couple of months and then Aro wanted out. Renee was heartbroken so she left.

Bella came in there and said her mother had always been distant with her. She was young when Renee left with another man, not Aro, but she could remember Renee acting almost scornful with her when she was a little girl. Her big sister, Rosalie, was more of a mom to her.

God, my girl had led a sad life.

I ran Carlisle out and told him I didn't care if he came back when Bella was through with her questions.

He knew. All this time. When I called him and got him to come down here. When I spoke to him about her. He knew who she was. What else was he hiding? I would find out even if I had to beat it out of him.

I moved to her side while she sat there staring off into space. "What can I do?"

"Don't kill Carlisle yet," she said with a sad laugh. "As much as I know you want to."

"They're twisted, Bella." I argued as I took a seat on the edge of the bed.

"Carlisle is your family," she said with a sigh while patting the bed next to her. She wanted me to come closer. I got closer, climbing into the bed with her. She laid her head on my chest. I put one gun down to wrap an arm around her, but I kept the other in my left hand with my finger close to the trigger.

"I don't care right now."

"Is he right?"

"About what?"

"About you acting like a lovesick pussy and letting me dictate what you do."

"I like being a lovesick pussy as it turns out." She chuckled softly against my chest.

"Why?"

"It can guarantee pussy on the regular if I'm being a good boy."

She laughed. "I thought you could get that at the snap of your finger already. You're Jasper fucking Whitlock. A woman would be mad to say no to you."

I kissed the top of her head. "Yeah, but she wouldn't be you."

Bella got up to look at me. "That's alright. Carlisle can suck it. I think I like being a lovesick, crazy girl around you."

"Why?"

"I can get dick on the regular if I'm being good."

We laughed until Bella stopped and grew sad. "Can you…"

I put the other gun down on the bedside table and cradled her face, pulling her into a kiss then whispering against her lips. "Tell me."

She pulled away with a tear rolling down her face and said, "Can you take my mind off of it? I will deal with it. I just need to think about something else."

I cocked an eyebrow at her, knowing exactly what she was talking about. "I don't think you can do that yet."

She chuckled. "As much as I would want to."

"Yeah. So? More talking?"

She nodded and laid her back down on my chest.

I talked while Bella listened. She asked a question here and there while I spoke but she otherwise stayed quiet as I told her about me. She asked about Carlisle and Edward and I told her about them. She said I spoke about them with love and I should try and forgive my uncle for not liking her. She thought he was just trying to protect me.

I had to admit, the thought of Uncle Carlisle wanting to keep me safe didn't cross my mind. I have always known him to be a bastard. A selfish, outspoken asshole that didn't care about who he pissed off.

"He loves you, Jasper." She implied. "You're his sister's kid. Maybe he promised her to protect you and he is doing it the only way he knows how."

"Why are you making excuses for him?"

"I'm not!" She was quick to say. And she wasn't. I could hear it in her voice. I was just pulling her leg. "I just get why he would be an asshole to someone in your life. Someone who wasn't as fleeting as the others."

"I can get that." It was a good thought. Maybe my uncle wasn't just a prick. No, good intentions or not, I still wanted to hurt him for being rude to her. And I probably would when I left this room. I wasn't going to tell her though.

"Tell me about Michael," Bella said. "Tell me about your hopes and dreams for him."

I did. And I told her about his hopes and dreams of becoming what I was. Michael saw the life of a gangster as the best thing in the world.

"I'm sorry you hate it."

"Hate what?"

"Michael wanting to become something cool like his big brother," Bella reasoned.

"You know the world I'm from, Bella," I said in a serious tone. "There is nothing cool about it."

She shrugged and got up, moving to sit up next to me. "Shouldn't you be lying down?"

"Don't want to." She smiled.

"Fine, then explain."

"I know you're not comfortable being what you are anymore," she said. "This is not about regrets or feeling remorseful, this is both business and personal. You want to protect them even from themselves. Michael is just seeing the glamour of it all. He sees the power you hold and he wants that. He thinks it will be easy because you and his father have already paved the way. He doesn't get it."

It bothered me how right she was.

We didn't speak more about it. Instead we moved on, or I moved on and Bella let me without annoying me with why, to Peter and Charlotte. The thought of them made me smile while I shared how great of friends they were to me.

Bella joked about me being a hardcore gangster with a heart and I pinched one of her tits. I loved the hungry look she got in her eyes when I licked my lips and I couldn't wait until it was okay to get between those legs.

I distracted myself by continuing to talk about Peter and Char and how they have been there for me when I needed them the most.

"I want them to get out but they won't leave me behind," I told her.

"Make them understand it's what's best for them," she said. "There can be no delays. Once the ball gets rolling, things are going to be bad," Bella stated. "They sound like good people. As good as you can be in your world without people thinking you're a pussy."

I smiled. Damn this chick got me. "If they don't get out now, they're dead. I can see it happening and I hate that."

"I know," she said with a sigh. She looked like she wanted to sleep. "Come here." She crawled back into my arms.

I continued talking. "Peter is a stubborn fuck, Bella. I want him and Char to go, but he thinks, we'll make it out of this. I know he does. He's a fucking optimist and it sucks right now. I can't get through to him."

"Have you tried Char?"

"I have. I tried talking to her today and she's holding her ground too." I told her while mimicking Char the best I could. _"I'm not leaving you behind."_

"At least they're loyal." Bella sounded exhausted.

"Yeah." I scoffed. "And it's gonna get them killed."

"Jasper, I think your family and friends know what they signed up for, and some might run because you command it, but others are gonna stay because they have to."

I made her look at me. "Have to? Why?"

"It's simple, idiot. We love you."

I kissed her and then laid her head on my chest. I let her lay there until her breath evened out, signaling she was asleep. When I was sure of it, I carefully extracted myself from her arms and got up. I had a lot to think about, like how the hell I was going to save her from all of this? Pop, Aro, Banner and the Chekovs were coming down on me and while I was slowly forgetting about sacrificing myself, how was I going to stay alive for her? I would need a fucking miracle.

I walked out of the room and headed downstairs. I needed something strong to drink.

Edward and Leah were hanging around the living room. Uncle Carlisle was sitting in there with them, pouting like a bitch.

"I can't believe you put your gun to my head!" Carlisle sprang up and shouted as soon as I stepped off the last stair, making my way over to them. I looked perfectly calm but I was raging inside. "For her! You're doing all of this for Aro's kid! Have you forgotten he's the traitor? Now because you're fucking his daughter you want to be lenient?"

"What do you suggest, Unc?"

I could see Leah slowly rising from her seat out of the corner of my eye. Edward wasn't following. Whatever was about to happen, my cousin wasn't going to lift a finger to stop it.

I was close now. Close enough to reach out and grab my uncle.

"I suggest you go back up those stairs and put a bullet between that girl's eyes and forget this shit you want to put yourself through. You kill her! You kill Aro! And that's the end of it!"

"Really?" I smiled.

"Why are you standing here smiling, boy? Get up those steps and go kill her!"

I didn't act. I wanted to know something first. "If you hate her, why did you save her before?"

"I wanted to see what you would do and I didn't think she would make it. You had stuck her deep."

Like I said, my uncle was a bastard.

I punched him in the face then, sending him flying to the ground. He looked up at me in shock.

"What?" I said, daring him to speak. "Didn't you hear what I said? Don't dictate to me. I'm not a fucking lackey," I told him. "I'm your boss!"

I walked away, heading to the office. I heard Carlisle behind me but I was done with him for the night. If I stayed, he'd be joining my mother in the land of the dead.

"She's changed you for the worse and you're going to die because of her." Was what he said, but I didn't stop or turn around. I went into the office and slammed the door shut.

Uncle Carlisle was wrong. I felt more alive because of Bella.


	24. The Return

_**Bella, 2006**_

Waking up alone left me feeling kind of disappointed. I wanted him to be here with me. I tried pushing away the yearning I felt for his presence, but it was no use. Seeing him here would have made a difference.

At least he didn't leave me alone.

I was back in my original room which I was seriously considering trashing out of spite because Jasper left me alone or just to get his attention. I kinda liked a pissed off Jasper. He appealed to my challenging nature. I liked that a lot.

This was a revelation in itself to me. Aside from seeing that I could love someone outside of family, I never thought I would be the selfish type with this love thing. I wanted to monopolize his time and I wasn't about to apologize for it.

Who knew I would be this way!

I never really considered love in the past. And if it came my way, I always thought I would at least be the understanding type seeing as I loved to stay busy because sitting still didn't bode well with me. If I wasn't doing something I felt like I was going to explode. I had been a burst of energy since I was a kid; always running around getting myself in all kinds of mess.

This made me think I would get it if a guy didn't come home when he was supposed to. I would give him the benefit of the doubt if he said he was working late instead of assuming he was under some hot co-worker. It would be as easy as pie.

I was wrong.

I wasn't the understanding girl I was deluding myself into thinking I could be. I was the unapologetic jealous, clingy type. I knew this because I was lying here plotting to kill whichever bitch so much as looked at Jasper for too long.

And there were a few at New Moon Lounge.

It didn't help that the man looked like a fucking male model. He was beautiful. Not just handsome. Beautiful!

Yeah, a couple of those bitches were currently climbing high on my hit list.

"You look like you're thinking really hard over there." She chuckled and I chose to ignore her for more pleasant thoughts of throwing some of those sluts who think Jasper will ever be on the market after me off a very high building.

Fuck no.

And if I catch him as so much as looking at any of them, I was going to cut off things he wouldn't want me to.

"What's got you smiling?" She laughed.

I didn't answer because I was trying to concentrate since I was having a good thought about a certain bitch I worked with at the club. I was imagining running around trying to find her, because when I did, I was going to rip her head off. That bitch was not nice to me and I have learned from others it was because it was obvious Jasper wanted me and she had been after him.

That idiot! Every woman in the fucking city was after him. Even the ones who were afraid of him had to stop and take another look as he went by.

So I could imagine a girl at the club at this very moment trying to get in his pants. And it would be that bitch.

That was if he was at the club.

"Is he at the club?" I asked. I just wanted to confirm.

"Yes," Leah said almost immediately.

Yep, if he was there, that slimy bitch was there and she was going to die when I got my hands on her.

What was her name again? I didn't care. I was going to cut her into little…

"Why did you ask?"

I was staring up at the ceiling while she spoke. "Got a bitch to kill," I answered truthfully. It just eased off my tongue like nothing.

"Oh. Oh!" Leah said then laughed. "Oh yes. That chick. She hasn't been working there long either. She loves pretending she has. She's a bossy little thing and most of the others let her get away with it."

"Guess it makes her feel like she matters, huh?"

"In a way." Leah shrugged.

"She's flirting with him." I was thinking out loud. But I could almost see that little twig trying to push her small tits in Jasper's face.

"Are you psychic?" She teased.

"I know sluts. I did warn Jamie about Alice, but did he listen?" I said more to myself than Leah.

"Boys think with their dicks." She shrugged.

I nodded. "That they do."

We fell in silence. Leah was reading some book. I didn't care to know the title. Edward came in to check on us. He nodded in greeting and I nodded back. Edward was a quiet one. He didn't have much to say to me and the feeling was mutual. We would talk to one another only when it was needed.

"Are you on suspension?" I asked him. I had to know. He was FBI like me. Yet, here he was, in the dragon's lair. It was only fair I asked. I need to know where everyone stood.

"Banner's after me."

"Sold you out too, huh?"

"Yeah." Edward chuckled. "Banner's been pointing fingers at me since I'm related to Jasper." He informed me. "Saying things like I've been feeding Jasper information about the inner works of the FBI."

"He's claiming you're more of a snitch than his pansy ass?"

Edward laughed and nodded. "Exactly."

He spoke to Leah a little and then he left.

Edward was a good guy caught in some bad shit. He was in it for love and family. And if he didn't leave soon, he was going to go down for them.

"You should get him out before it starts," I said to Leah, staring at the door long after Edward's departure before turning my attention to her.

She looked up from her book with a mixture of sorrow and acknowledgement on her face. "I know. He won't leave me."

"Then it's possible he might die."

She looked back down at her book and said in a sad tone. "I know."

She went back to reading and I went back to thinking about all the shit I was going to do to bitches who flirted with Jasper until I dozed off.

I woke up a little while later to see Leah still sitting beside the bed in a comfy chair with her book in hand. She looked so unassuming as she sat there, but I knew she was armed. Her shoulder holster with her silver nine millimeter was visible and she probably had another on the hip and a knife on her ankle.

I got to admit. I felt safe.

I stuck my hand under my pillow and felt a pistol there. I smiled and got up gingerly. Things still hurt, but I wasn't in as much pain as yesterday. And with the breakdown I had last night, I was surprised I even wanted to move, much less get out of bed, but I was choosing not to dwell on the shit I had unknowingly unearthed.

I chuckled as I got up then sighed while I straightened my back. I mentally pushed the pain away so I could think. I had shit to do. Lying here wasn't going to help me. I was going to get lazy and then where would that leave us? How could I help Jasper if I was lying on back recuperating? Granted, I wouldn't need recuperating if he hadn't stabbed me!

Bu thinking back to last night, I still couldn't believe it. I was a pawn? A fucking pawn! And even if I chose not to believe, Carlisle, a man I had basically just met, confirmed it with his hatred for me and the little he knew about my mother and fake dad and real father.

There was only one person who could tell me how this shit played out and I swore, when I laid eyes on him, it wouldn't be pretty.

"I'm going to take a shower," I told Leah.

"Have a good one." She shrugged.

Damn her words because the shower was a really good one and when I climbed out after washing my hair for the third time in order to get out the last of the black hair dye, I saw the gun I had under my pillow on the closed toilet seat and smiled. I could ask her why she left it in here, and I could slap myself for not hearing her come in because I was enjoying the shower so much, but I wouldn't do either.

Instead, I picked it up, checked it for a full magazine and clicked that shit back in place. Then I went about drying my hair. It was growing out. I liked that. It was good to look in the mirror and see me again. Seeing the chocolate brown of my hair instead of the black dye job I had for this assignment. It was a busted assignment anyways. I wasn't intended to come out alive so why keep up the pretence?

I walked right into Leah upon leaving the bathroom. She smiled. "So this is what you look like."

"Yeah."

She smiled and nodded in approval before going back to her seat. I went back to bed. The long shower took a lot out of me. I needed to lie down but I couldn't fall asleep.

"What are you thinking about, Bella?" Leah asked.

I turned on my good side, facing her. "Why do you ask?" I said, grinning devilishly.

"Because of that evil grin on your face and how happy you looked a minute ago with whatever you're thinking about," she explained.

"Lots of things."

"Anything to do with the chick at the club and choking her for flirting with Jasper as you believe?"

"Are you confirming she flirts with him?"

Leah shrugged with a small smile playing on her lips. "I'm not saying no and I'm not saying yes."

"You're playing with the wrong chick, Leah."

"I know exactly who I'm messing with, Bella Swan." She smiled.

"Just so you know." It was my turn to shrug.

She burst into laughter and confessed her inner musing. "Oh my God! You're perfect for the boss!"

"What do you mean?" I was genuinely interested.

"He'd kill anyone who tries to get with you too."

"Really?" I said. "Didn't he do it with the other girls before me? Wasn't he possessive when it came to them?"

Her answer came quick. "No. You're the first."

My chest swelled with pride. "Oh really?" I smirked.

"Really."

She calmed down and we were silent for a while or until I got curious.

I sat up cross legged. Things were getting easier and easier. I was glad.

Looking over at Leah, I smiled. She couldn't be here willingly. There had to have been an argument. Leah didn't leave Jasper's side.

"So he bought me a house?" I posed it like a question and she chuckled.

"He did," she said with a smile that was a cross between something evil and light hearted.

"A huge one!" I exclaimed. "And in his grandmother's maiden name, Hale."

"Yeah," she said with the devilish grin and shut her book. "Jasper's smart. I always liked that about him. Sneaky too, and very stealth."

"Why?"

She sighed and grew serious as she repeated, "Why?"

"Yes."

"Well, it's simple, Bella. He did it because he's in love with you," she said. "Like I said, he's never done anything like this before. He's never felt protective of the women he's been with. He's never threatened men who looked at them."

"And with me?" He's threatened men who looked at me?

"With you, I've been on duty 24/7. I've had to get rid of guys who came to the club and started swearing after you while you were working. I've had men bounced outta there for spending too much time at the bar."

"He's gotten rid of customers for me?"

"Yeah, that shit was crazy to me too." She chuckled.

I shook my head. "He's never said anything."

"He won't tell you. Male pride and he thinks highly of you. He thinks you'll see shit like that as petty."

"I want to hurt women who look at him," I told her, while rolling my eyes in exasperation. "Of course I get it!"

Leah chuckled. "Like I said, you two are very much alike."

I had t admit, I was eating this up. "Did he do anything else?"

"You want me to snitch?" She smirked.

"Yes!"

She laughed. "I sent a couple of guys to watch over you when you lived in that broken down house."

"But I was on assignment."

"Don't worry. I covered your ass. They didn't know shit."

"You've always known about me?"

"From the first day you walked in the door."

"Why didn't you do anything? You protect him."

"Jasper's always been there for me. I would never let you hurt him."

"Garrett couldn't stop me," I countered.

She smirked something evil. "I'm not Garrett. I have my own way of doing things."

She did. I didn't doubt since she was a lot like someone I knew.

Me.

Like Leah, I was willing to get dirty and we both weren't afraid to die. Fighting Leah would be like fighting myself. I could almost see it. It would be a worthy match.

But I was thinking about Jasper and all he had done for me. It was so much. I couldn't fathom it.

"Then there's the most obvious," Leah said.

"What do you mean?"

"He stepped in and stopped his father from killing you when Nicky found out you were FBI and he continues to lie about why you're still breathing. Jasper's made it look like you are giving him a lot of information about your job, about Banner, and everything to do with the FBI. Shit Edward hasn't said."

"Where _does_ he get the information from?" He was doing all of that…for me?

She smirked. "Like I said, Jasper is very smart, and very calculated. Everything he does, he does it with a plan."

"Nothing is ever out of his control?" I was very impressed. He has got some qualities I could learn to love.

"Hardly," Leah said.

"How are you so sure?" I asked cheekily. Jasper couldn't be so perfect. I had to find a flaw.

Leah smiled ruefully, but a bit evilly. "If Jasper had his way, James would be alive."

"Fuck you!" Anger rose up my back at that answer. Jasper couldn't save my brother. Leah was bullshitting.

She scoffed. "I'm telling you the truth. Think what you want. I know Jasper. He's like a brother to me. And I know if he had his way, despite what your brother found out, Jasper would have found a way to keep him alive the way he's been keeping you breathing."

I didn't answer and we fell back in silence with Leah giving something to think about.

After a while, Leah left me to go and get us a late breakfast. She came back with pancakes, bacon, orange juice and coffee for us both. We ate while I thought about all she has told me.

When the food was gone, we went back to doing our own thing. She read her book while I let my mind move from thinking about anything logical, preferring to let it go to the gutter. I smiled as I thought about what I would do to Jasper if he were here.

Just the thought of him made things get warm. I wanted to rub my thighs together, but felt a little insecure doing it in front of Leah. But thinking about her boss was making things very difficult.

I need to get laid. It has been too long. I felt ready to rip Jasper to shreds when I got my hands on him. I would have to be careful with my injury, and I swore I was going to stick him for what he did because it was only right he felt this annoying pain in his side too, but I had to have him.

"What's got you smiling?" Leah asked, interrupting my mind's journey to the gutter.

"Thinking about jumping your boss's bones."

"Seriously?" She said and then gagged. "I don't need to know!"

I laughed and threw myself down on the bed. We didn't need to talk about much after that declaration until Leah decided to let me in on a past occurrence.

"I had the unfortunate experience of hearing half of what was going on between you two the first time around," She said and shivered to prove her point.

"Sorry about that," I said with a smug smile.

"No, you're not."

"No, I'm not."

"So since you can't leave me, entertain me." I challenged.

Leah raised her eyebrows. "I'd love to hear how. Should I bound and gag you so you'll stop talking?"

"Oh! You're kinky. I like it!" I winked.

She chuckled and shook her head. "What do you want to know, Bella?"

I got right to the point. "Why does Carlisle hate me?" I got to admit. It bothered me a little.

"Don't let it bother you," Leah said as if she was reading my mind. "Carlisle is an asshole. He will say things to hurt you."

I scoffed. "These things are true when it comes to me."

"Sadly, yes."

"So why does he hate me?"

"He's protecting Jasper. He promised his sister he'd protect her kids. You're Aro's kid. He sees you as a threat. But he also doesn't get why Jasper is acting the way he does."

"Why? Didn't he love someone? What about Edward's mom?"

Leah scoffed. "Edward's mom isn't the best example. Edward, I like to think, means more to Carlisle than that woman ever did."

Damn. It sounded like Edward's mother wasn't a nice person. I did read someplace she had left the family when Edward was very young.

"She left them when Edward was practically a baby. She didn't look back. She didn't reconsider."

"It burned Carlisle?"

"Ripped his fucking heart out," Leah said as I watched Jasper step into the room but Leah didn't stop. "From then on, Carlisle has been the son of a bitch you met. He thinks you're gonna burn Jasper. There is nothing keeping you from doing it. Worse of the worse, you are the enemy's child. Aro is Carlisle's enemy."

"Why hasn't Carlisle killed him? He's a doctor. It's not like he couldn't find some way to discreetly do it and why does he hate Aro?" I asked while Jasper came over to the bed and sat down beside me. He ran a hand through my hair, noticing my natural hair color no doubt, and smiling a bit before turning his attention to Leah as she spoke.

"He hasn't killed the bastard out of respect for the Whitlocks and he didn't want to ruffle Jasper's dad's feathers because Nicky thinks Aro is his friend and he'll never hurt him." Leah told me.

Jasper interjected as Leah stood to leave. "Uncle Carlisle wouldn't do it because he won't risk me and Michael and Edward. Killing Aro would leave a trail. It doesn't matter what cops and all that shit think they can't see, we can find whoever hurt us. It would have led to us. Carlisle, as much as he's an asshole, wouldn't do that to the family."

Leah nodded in agreement before she turned to leave. She stopped at the door. "Thanks for the talk and the annoyance, Bella."

"You're welcome!" I laughed and waved as she shook her head and walked out, closing the door behind her. I turned to Jasper. He was looking down at me expectantly so I leaned up and he met me half way with a kiss.

"I love seeing your hair," he said when he pulled away.

"You left me a gun."

He smiled.

"Under my pillow."

"Yeah. And?"

"Did you think Carlisle would've tried something?"

He cocked an eyebrow as if to say I fucking dared him to, but he played along. "Maybe."

"I'm not through talking about him."

"What else do you want to know?"

Would he tell me?

"Why does Carlisle hate Aro?"

"Because of my mother," Jasper said without hesitation.

"What happened?"

"Aro always wanted my mother, Tanya Denali." Carlisle and Jasper's mother shared the same mom but had different fathers. Carlisle's father had died in a car accident when he was a young child. And while his mother had a child with another man after his father's death, she never remarried.

"Carlisle knew?"

"Carlisle was always protective of my mother."

"Had it always been your dad?"

"That's what I heard," Jasper said. "Uncle wasn't too happy about it, but he let it pass since his sister was happy."

"Where does Aro come in?" Saying his name made me want to throw up. I despised the bastard.

"Since Nicky's dad took in Aro at a young age after he lost his family, Aro had always been around. He was around a lot while we grew up. He was around me even more after I joined the gang."

"So he's always being in the background?"

"Yeah," Jasper said and got up. He started to pace while he talked. "Aro wasn't with Pop. He was and still is pretending to be though."

I sighed. "Why can't your dad see it?"

He shook his head. "I honestly don't know. I just tell myself it's misplaced loyalty."

"What does Aro truly want?"

Jasper stopped and looked at me. "Domination and destruction of the Whitlocks. He wants to raise the Volturi gang from our ashes."

"So why not kill him now?"

"My stubborn ass father doesn't want to believe me."

"So you have tried to tell him?"

Jasper laughed. "Many different ways. I haven't trusted Aro since I found him in our dining room trying to hold my mother down on the table when I was a kid. I can still hear him telling her how it should have been him. How her brats should be his. Why would I trust a slimy bastard like that?"

This was new. I didn't know this. Jasper said it happened when he was a kid. "I'm sorry." And I truly was. How could I wrong Carlisle for getting pissed at me? I was related to that rotten bastard. My blood would boil if someone touched Rosie and I couldn't hurt him for it.

"Wait, what did your father do?"

Jasper looked at me like I was crazy. "The rat bastard is still here, isn't he?"

"Oh shit. Don't tell me he didn't believe your mom?"

"He didn't believe _me_ ," he said softly. "My mom was the one backed up what I told him and he said he would talk to Aro because he was probably high and didn't know what he was doing. Even then, Pop was making excuses for Aro."

"But?"

"Well, Mom and I thought we wouldn't see Aro again. But the motherfucker showed up the very next day with a half-assed apology to my mother and sinister smile on his face. I'll never forget the smile he had on his face and the disappointed look my mother gave my father while the asshole spoke. Aro had blind sighted him. Told him some shit and that was it. They fought about it that night. Pop left and Mom spend most of the night crying. We left home the next morning for Uncle Carlisle. We stayed with him for a bit. Or at least until Pop charmed Mom into going back home."

He had a small smile on his face. I didn't ask why. It looked like he was thinking about something good.

"So years later…" I started, wanting him to continue.

Jasper finished. "Years later I still hate Aro for what he did to my mother. As time went by, I learned it wasn't the first time he cornered her and Pop laughed it off as a crush."

"But it wasn't?"

"Nah." Jasper shook his head. "It was obsession. He wasn't what Mom wanted, and he hated that."

"But that's not the only thing, is it?"

"No," Jasper said. "Aro has done more despicable things over the years, and I have found myself in Mom's shoes many times, watching Pop laugh it off as his best friend just being a little crazy."

That was so sad. Aro would be Nicky Whitlock's downfall.

I called to Jasper, beckoning him over and he came back to bed and laid down in my arms. "How's this going to end, Jasper?"

"Very bloodily."

We were still and quiet until his phone beeped with a text, breaking the silence. Jasper got up to check it. I wanted to be annoyed because I was just about to make my move. He needed comforting and I needed to get laid. It was a win win in my book.

"What the hell is this?" He grew serious as he read the text. Was it that little slut from the club? I was going to kill her!

"What does it say?" He looked at me and then he looked at the text, mouthing the words as if he was trying to understand them. I asked again. "What does it say?"

"Okay." He chuckled. "Honey to the beehive. The hive is intact."

I sprang up, forgetting the pain. "Read it again."

"What?" He laughed.

"Read it again!" I demanded.

"Honey to the beehive. The hive is intact."

"That motherfucker!" I got up. I was ready to go. Forget talking this through. I was going to kill him! What the hell did he do? "What has he done?"

I started looking around for clothes. I couldn't go in pajamas. "Leah! Leah!"

She came running. "What?"

"I need clothes. Black. All black! He's fucking dead!" Leah and Jasper were looking at me like I was crazy. I didn't give a shit.

"Bella, sit down and tell me what the hell is going on?" Jasper demanded. I wasn't about to talk right now.

"Forget that. We'll talk later. Get me guns!"

They weren't moving so I called for Edward. "Get me guns. Big ones. Semi-automatic is best. I want rapid fucking fire for his ass." I told Edward as I tried to find clothes. Someone grabbed the black pants I found and I started to fight. I flipped Jasper right over, making him land on the bed on his back.

"What the fuck, Bella?"

I shouted him. "I don't have time for this! I need to get to him so I can kick his ass!"

"What's wrong with her?" Edward asked.

"I don't know," Leah said.

"I want to fucking find out," Jasper added as he got up. "Leah get her what she wants. Edward get her the guns."

They left and Jasper demanded the truth. "Now tell me what the hell that text meant."


	25. Dad said so

_**Bella, 2006**_

Leah came back with the clothes. Edward got the guns. They laid the weapons out on the bed. I checked for ammunition, making sure they were loaded. I asked Edward for extra bullets. He looked at Jasper and Jasper told him to get them to me. Edward left and came back with my ammunition.

Jasper was talking but I hardly heard a thing.

"Tell me what the text meant?" He finally shouted, getting my attention while I got dressed. Leah had found the all black ensemble I wanted. I threw off the pajama pants and tank top I had on in exchange for the black pants, tank top, boots and jacket.

Jasper told Edward to get me a bulletproof vest. When he brought it to me, I threw it down on the bed and told them, "It's gonna hold me back."

"Aren't you going to war?" Edward half joked.

I gave him a hard look wiping the smile off his face because I was dead serious. "Yeah."

"Would suck to get shot in the first round," He retorted.

Jasper and Leah looked like they agreed so I grabbed it up and put it on while I asked Jasper, "Where do all this stuff come from?"

He smirked at me. "You really wanna know?"

He looked like he would tell me and if I was still thinking like an FBI agent I would want to know.

"No."

He shrugged and added, "I'm going with you."

As if!

I chuckled darkly. "No, you're not."

He cocked an eyebrow at me that said "Try and fucking stop me."

"Are you giving me orders?" He challenged.

What? He thought I was scared?

"Yeah, right now I am. And none of you fucks are coming with me!"

Jasper laughed at me. Leah chuckled. And Edward shook his head as if to say I don't know what I was dealing with.

"You're cute," Jasper said, pinching my chin. I slapped his hand away.

"You're not coming!" I yelled at them.

They all laughed in my face while Jasper picked up one of the semi-automatics Edward had brought. He loaded it like it was the easiest thing in the world. And if I wasn't about to go and fuck someone up, I would throw him down for the move. It was such a damn turn on even though I couldn't stand the stubborn asshole at the moment.

"You seem to have chosen to forget who I am," he said to me.

"I know who the hell you are, Jasper Whitlock!"

He chuckled at my hard tone. "Good to know, Bella Swan."

"You're fighting a losing battle, Swan," Leah said and I rolled my eyes. Great! Now it's a fucking party. "You're not going anywhere without us."

"Why are any of you doing this?"

She looked at Jasper and Edward before answering me. "You're a part of the family now. And we look out for each other." She picked up guns of her choice and moved away, leaving me momentarily baffled.

I was a part of their family now? Did Leah actually see me like that or was Jasper forcing them to? No. He wasn't. Leah wasn't a pushover. She meant that shit. Jasper couldn't rule her if he tried. She truly saw me as a part of them now. And a part of me felt elated to be.

But it also ticked me off. "Listen!" I shouted, making everyone stop and look at me. "I'm going alone." I told them in a deadly calm tone. Maybe I should explain. If I talked, they would forget their ridiculousness and let me get on with the World War III I was about to rain down on my father for what he had done.

"Jasper…" I sighed, because he was trying my fucking patience. "The text is from my dad, Charlie. It means he has Rosalie, Emmett, and fuck it all to hell, he has Alice."

I waited for it to sink in. "Wait…" he said when he realized what I was saying.

"No." I cut him off. Let that shit digest. I had no time to explain anything else. "I got no time for that."

I grabbed the duffel bag off the floor, ignoring the nagging pain in my side, and started packing it with weapons. Carlisle appeared at the door. He didn't venture inside. He just stood there, judging me while he watched me pack. I could feel his cold eyes in the back of my head.

"Get that fucking look off your face," Jasper snapped, causing me to look at Carlisle in time to see a sort of happy look on the bastard's face. "We're coming back." That was right. We…oh fuck, they were coming with me whether I liked it or not. But he was right. We _were_ coming back. I had promised myself Jasper would make it out of this. I wasn't about to lose everyone I cared about.

But I had to try. "Jasper, I told you…"

"That shit won't work on me, Bella." He told me with a small smile playing on his lips. It was cute. The little look of triumph in his eyes irritated me though. Because he was a charming fucker, it made me realize he could get away with a lot if I allowed him to. That would leave me in so much trouble with him. Would he always get his way if he had his cunning smile playing on his fucking lips?

Probably.

"If I say I'm going then I'm going."

Fuck it. I couldn't wait around anymore. It was time to move and I couldn't stop for this. "Fine! gimme your phone," I said to Jasper.

He handed it to me and I wrote the reply Charlie was waiting on. Only it wouldn't be the way he expected. There were going to be fireworks.

I gave Jasper his phone back and he read the text aloud trying to make sense of it while I grabbed my packed bag and made for the door. Edward took it from me and Carlisle grew worried.

"Where are you going?" he asked his son.

"With them," Edward said to him and moved away with Leah following close behind him.

Carlisle looked at me and before he could say anything, I said, "Shut the fuck up. I don't need your shit right now. He's a grown man. He knows what he's doing."

He turned and stomped away.

Jasper was following me down the stairs. I headed for the front door, but he pulled me away, leading me to the garage where Leah was waiting in a black GMC truck. The back door was open and waiting for us so I climbed in with Jasper and we took off.

"Where are we going?" Leah asked and I gave her the directions.

"The hive is healthy and swimming by the sea." Jasper read and then he asked, "What the hell does this mean?"

"It means I'm alive and I'm telling him where to go."

"I know this place." Leah added. "I've been there before. It's a real quiet spot."

"Good. Exactly why I picked it. Not a lot of witnesses," I said.

Jasper interjected. "I'm not going to ask how he got my number. That would be redundant. Why send the text to me?"

"To show you he can."

"Why did he take them from Carmen?"

"The important question is why did Carmen hand them over?" I said. "We both know she loves playthings."

He nodded. "We do."

"Good. Well, Charlie must've sought help and someone high up got him a deal to offer Carmen, or I think they offered it to Eleazar and he pressured Carmen into giving up her guests and her plaything."

"She will do whatever her father says," Jasper said with a sigh. "It must be a good deal."

He didn't ask anything else, just looked out the window, probably thinking the same thing I was. Why was Carmen and Eleazar important enough to deal out, but not the Whitlocks? Everyone knew the Chekovs were coming for them. Why no deal? It made me angry to know someone was willing to let Jasper die.

Leah was getting closer to the spot. I got my gun out and had it locked and loaded and ready to go. I saw Dad's truck sitting there on the small beach.

"Slow down," I said to Leah.

"We're almost there," she replied.

"Slow down," I repeated.

She did what I asked and I didn't wait. I opened my door and jumped out of the slow moving vehicle I had been in. Jasper shouted my name but I was already running. I heard my ride screech to a stop, and I saw Dad's head turn to the sound. I was close enough already. He saw me the same time I saw him. And then it was as if time slowed when I raised my gun and watched as my dad shouted, "Bella!" before I started shooting, sending him flying to the ground beside the truck for cover.

It wasn't enough he had to free Alice. No. He had to use Jamie's armored truck to come here. I knew this truck like the back of my hand because I was there when Jamie fixed it up for emergency purposes. You never know who you were going to piss off so it was best to be prepared.

I shot up the truck as I gained on the parked vehicle. I was seeing red.

I vaguely heard my name being called from behind me. I paid it no mind. The sunroof of Dad's truck opened and an arm rose out of it with a handgun. The person fired off warning shots in the air.

Rosalie.

I didn't pay it any mind. She just wanted me to stop and I wanted to shoot Charlie in the ass.

"Bella!" Charlie screamed. "Stop!" he yelled as I fired on the truck. "Fucking stop!"

I stopped shooting and advanced on the truck in measured moves, switching guns as I go while being careful enough to get ready to take cover should in case Charlie return fire.

He was a sneaky bastard. Always was.

In the past, when he was training us, he would always cheat. Telling us criminals didn't play by the rules.

I guess he was talking about himself too. Look what he did to me; raised me out of spite to be the perfect weapon against his enemy.

"Bella put the gun down and stop this!"

How dare he? He thought he could order me around?

I fired off more shots.

"Bella!" he shouted when I stopped. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"You are, you bastard!" I said before firing again. I wanted to get to him. I wanted to break him. I was ready to fight. I wanted to feel something breaking under my fist. "You knew! You always knew!"

"Whatever you're talking about, they lied to you!" He yelled as I fired off more shots at the truck. I took out the tires. I didn't aim for the gas tank, because my sister was in there and I wasn't ready for this to be over yet.

"Told me?" I yelled back. "Nobody told me anything, you motherfucker! I figured it out!" I shouted and then fired some shots at him, making him move from his hiding spot. I wanted to shoot his ass.

The he did something brave and stupid. He came out in the open. I spotted Leah, Jasper, and Edward out of the corner of my eye as I made my way to my dad. I switched from the semi-automatic to my handgun, pointing it at him. Aiming for his head while he tried to stare me down. He was reading me. Seeing if I meant what I was doing. I kept the gun trained on him as I got closer.

Charlie watched me. I was waiting on him to make a move. He had to have a move. He always did, the rat bastard!

He had the audacity to look relieved when I got close enough to him. "Bella." He breathed. My gun was still on him. I heard the window on the good side of the truck being lowered and my sister's demanding voice yelled, "Bella, what the fuck?!"

I didn't answer her. And I noticed she didn't say anything else. That was when I saw Leah get closer to my right side, with her gun trained on the truck, no doubt pointing it at my sister.

I glanced at her and she said without looking at me. "Just in case she tries anything."

I nodded. Though I would probably hurt Leah if she hurt my sister. There was only one person I wanted out of the truck. That bitch was hiding in there.

"Bella, come on, what's the meaning of this?" Charlie asked me with a slight chuckle. Dad had a way to him. In a way, he reminded me Jasper at the moment. They were both charming fuckers who could get people to do what they wanted with minimal effort.

"Don't you know?" I taunted. I was serious. And if he thought I was through, he had another thing coming.

That wiped the smile off his face, replacing it with anger. "What are you doing with them?" he spat at me then said to Leah harshly, "Get that gun out of my daughter's face!"

"Fuck you, old man," Leah said with ease. Her tone was so calm it almost sent shivers down my spine.

"Emmett!" Jasper called. "Get out of the truck!" The truck door opened but no one came out. "Now!" Jasper demanded, making a move toward it. Leah and I shouted for him to stop at the same time. Dad pulled his gun from his back cocked it and had it trained at Jasper's head. I had my gun pointed at Dad while Edward had two guns pointed at both my dad and Rosalie who had gotten out of the truck and had her gun pointed at Jasper.

"Get over here, Bee," she ordered me. "We're getting you out of here."

I glanced at her but kept my attention on my dad, Charlie. "What did he tell you?!" I shouted to Rosie. "What did he tell you? That he was coming to save me? Oh, now he wants to save me," I said, mocking my father.

He was trying to staring me down. In the past, I would have been intimidated by the look but not anymore.

"Bella, you need to stop this shit!" Rosie tried.

"Tell me what he told your ass!" I shouted at her.

At first Charlie genuinely looked confused then a look of realization dawned on his face.

"Yeah." I smiled at him and then whispered with a sneer, "I know. I know what you did."

Different emotions passed through his eyes while we stood there in a stand-off that could end badly.

If he shot at Jasper, I was definitely going to shoot him. If Leah shot my sister, I would attack her and then Edward would attack me, and I would be forced to kill him in front of Leah if I hadn't already killed her.

Yeah, things could definitely go south in a split second.

"Get your gun off of him," I said to Charlie. He didn't so I shouted. "Lower your fucking weapon!"

"Are you on his side now, Honey Bee?" Charlie asked me.

"What side?" I mocked. "Don't you worry about what's important to me, _Dad_! You don't get to know shit about me anymore!"

He recoiled a little at my harsh tone. I wasn't the least bit sorry about it. Maybe in the future I would be, if I lived through this, but not now. I wanted Charlie to hurt the way he hurt me.

"You don't understand," he said, trying to get through to me. I knew what he thought. He thought I was in too deep, and I was putting my trust into the wrong set of people.

"I understand fine, Dad!"

I wasn't about to let him get to me. "I'm not going to let you in, Charlie. Not this time." I chuckled darkly. "I know what you're trying to do. I spent my life being manipulated by you. Not anymore."

We came to a decision the others didn't see coming as we stepped closer to one another. Our movement synchronizing. He trained me. He knew what I was capable of. I studied him and I knew what I was getting myself into. I was about to challenge a fucking dragon.

As Charlie and I walked briskly to each other, we both lowered our weapons and when we got close enough, I threw the first punch. It hurt like hell to swing at him so hard. My side felt like it was on fire.

His head flashed with the move and then he bounced back, backhanding me, sending me flying to the ground. Fuck! I forgot how strong my dad was. I wasn't going to take it though. When he approached, I kicked him in the stomach and when he doubled over, I landed a kick in his face, sending him flying to the ground, sprawled out on his back.

I could hear the others telling us to stop but we ignored them.

I jumped up and got on top of Charlie, flinching punches everywhere I could. "How could you do this to me? How could you lie to me like this? You motherfucker!" I screamed as I hurt him. He tried to block some of my moves but he couldn't block all of them.

"I love you, Bella," He told me, making me lose it for a moment. He took the opportunity to punch me in the face, splitting my lip. I fell off of him. It was my fault. I was losing because I was emotionally attached to my dad and deep down I knew I really didn't want to hurt him, but he had lied and he was still lying.

"Shut up!"

"You need to stop. You know I'll defend myself!" He warned as I got up, smiling at him manically.

"Of course you will," I taunted. "You have to protect yourself from Aro Volturi's daughter. I am my father's daughter, aren't I? I'm just as sadistic and murderous, aren't I? Aren't I, Charlie?!" I shouted. "You knew! You knew that bitch would run back to him!"

"Don't talk about your mother like that!"

Like I was going to listen to him. "Didn't I just tell you that you can't control me anymore?" I asked then continued. We circled each other. One waiting on the other to strike. "You knew she would want to be with him when she couldn't hack living like a good girl." I told him, and watched his face fall for a moment. "Yeah," I chuckled. "The truth hurts like a bitch, doesn't it?"

"Bella, you don't know…" He started.

"Oh shut up!" I interrupted. "Hell! Renee's fucked up dream was to be a mobster's wife! She wanted to be like Jasper's mom! Like Tanya Denali! And you used it. You found her when he dropped her again…" As I was saying it, I was imagining how Charlie found Renee, pregnant with me and how he hatched a plan that would destroy us all. How he would raise Aro's child as his own and then use me against the bastard."

Rosie's voice sounded through my rage. "That's not true, right, Dad?"

Charlie couldn't answer her and it made me see I wasn't just imagining what he had done, I was saying it for everyone to hear.

"I was the perfect pawn," I said with a smile. "And for what? You think I could march up to Aro and get him to care about me? Get him to tell me how much he loves his long lost daughter and take me in and then I would slit his throat in his sleep so you could feel vindicated about Renee's betrayal?" I didn't give him to answer. "I get it. The agency dropped her in your lap. Just like how I went in, ready to kill Jasper for what happened to Jamie, and then something happened. It's unexpected and totally fucked up, but we fell for the prey. In your case, you thought you could change her. I know I will never _want_ Jasper to change."

"You're actually admitting you're with the man who murdered your brother?" Charlie said with a sneer.

"Yeah," I said with pride. "Because what you think means shit to me right now and I'm not about be anything you want me to be anymore. I'm done. I'm through with you."

I turned away from him, but I couldn't walk away without one final thing. I spun around and punched him right in the nose. We both heard a crack and I didn't give a shit.

My rage grew to even higher levels when I saw Alice exit the truck behind Emmett.

I took off before anyone could stop me. And I was on her before she could get away. I grabbed her by the hair as she tried to make her way around the truck and slammed her head down on the hood. I pulled her up and Rosie came around, trying to separate us. I dropped my sister and Emmett moved in to defend her, but I kicked him in the balls and then used my knee to slam him in the nose, sending him to the ground.

I punched Alice in her sides, dropping her to her knees. The expression kicking a man while he was down became literal as I literally beat Alice into the ground until I heard a gun cocked at my head.

"Let her go," Charlie said.

"You fucking her?" I turned to him and said. If he was going to shoot me, he had to look me in the eye while doing it.

He looked sadden by my crass remark. "No," he said gravely. "I'm not. She didn't deserve where you sent her. Carmen is a sick bitch."

"Exactly why I sent her there," I retorted. "She deserved it for betraying Jamie."

"I didn't betray him," Alice said in a weak voice.

"Don't speak to me," I said to her.

"I'm so sorry, Bella," she said. "I'm so sorry."

I looked at Dad, choosing to ignore the groveling bitch at my feet. "You made a deal with the Cortez's?"

"I got some help, yes." He admitted.

"And you couldn't think to get help for Jasper?"

He chuckled darkly. "You want me to save the guy that…"

"Tried to save your son!" I shouted. "Became Jamie's confidante when everyone else around him, failed him! You couldn't do that?" I was so fucking angry. "That's alright, Charlie. I'll do it myself."

"You wouldn't," Charlie said. "You go back with him, you die!"

"You keep talking that way about him, you die." Right then, Jasper threw his gun to me and I caught it and pointed at my so called father.

Charlie looked amazed at the move. "You chose him over family."

"I'm with him and I think I'm going to stick with the side of truth from now on."

I had nothing more to say and I wasn't going to waste anymore strength on Charlie.

"Bella, don't do this!" Rosie said. She had gotten to her feet. "Let's leave!"

I looked at my sister with a soft gaze. "I love you and you can go with him if you think you'll be safe. I want you safe. I don't want to lose you. Take Emmett with you and go."

I looked back at Charlie. "You and Alice can go fuck yourselves."

I turned away with Jasper, Edward and Leah following. I had busted two of Charlie's tires but I didn't care. He would find a way to get them out of there.

"Isabella, don't do this!" Charlie yelled to my back.

"You can go if you want," Jasper said beside me. I looked at him, seeing nothing but sincerity on his face. I really could walk away and he wouldn't stop me. I could escape it all. Right now.

I kissed him. "I'm not going anywhere. Let's go."

We got in our truck and left them there.


	26. Time To Go

_**Jasper, 2006**_

Her face was neutral while a storm raged inside me. Did she really just choose me over her family? Her bruised hand had settled in mine as soon as I got in the back of the truck with her and it stayed there.

I was troubled by her decision to stay. Her father had come for her despite all the bullshit he did, he came for her. He cared enough to. This meant a lot to me. He might not like me. He might think I was scumbag and I doubt I would ever like the motherfucker. It took a lot out of me not to kill him. God knows I wanted to do it there on the beach. When he had his gun pointed at me, he thought he had the upper hand, but I still could have killed him.

I didn't because of her. If she wanted him dead, he would be. I have learned enough to know Bella was not to be fucked with.

She paused for a reason.

Emmett was another thing. He chose to stay with Rosalie and I couldn't see Charlie liking that, but Rosalie was playing a part there. She was protecting Emmett.

Alice was another story though. I doubt she will walk away again the next time Bella or I see her. She was a pain in Bella's side. A fucking traitor and I think it was only right I make my girl happy by getting rid of whatever was bothering her.

I felt over the moon about her choice to stay with me but it also bothered me. She had admitted her feelings for me, but fuck if I knew how deep they were until after the fight with Charlie, and she chose to leave with me.

Leah pulled into the garage. She looked at me through the rearview mirror for directions and I nodded for her and Edward to go. They got out, leaving us in the parked truck with the windows down. Bella was still sitting there, staring out the window like we were still on the road.

"Where are you?" I asked, breaking the silence.

"Here," she answered, surprising me. I wasn't really expecting her to answer. I thought she was far away; deep in her thoughts.

"What happened out there? Did I get in your way?" I half joked. I knew she didn't want me to go with her and I half think she hesitated because she didn't want her father to shoot me, Leah or Edward. But I also thought it was of Charlie and what he meant to her.

She looked at me now so I continued, "You know, it's okay, right?"

She looked quizzical and I smiled reassuringly. "Bella, it's alright to still love your dad. That's what Charlie is to you. He's your father. And as much of an asshole as he is and as much as I wanted to shoot out his kneecaps, I didn't. For you."

"What makes you think I would have stopped you?" she countered.

I smiled. "You don't want him dead yet. Maybe you wanted to maim him, but not kill him."

She turned away but her hand remained in mine. "I loved him but he betrayed me. I'll get right next time."

"Don't."

She looked at me again. "Why?"

"Because it'll kill you." She move to argue but I cut her off. "If you want him dead, just say the word and I'll personally do it for you." She was breathing hard. I could see tears threatening to fall from her eyes.

"You would?"

"Only if you want me to." I wanted her to know I would do anything for her.

"You would?" Her voice broke.

"Just say when."

She looked at me long and hard and then swiftly pulled herself closer to me, hugging herself to me. I wrapped my arms around her, holding her as she shook with her silent cries.

"He broke my heart," she said in my chest. "But I couldn't kill me. I'm such a pussy, Jasper!" She hit my chest in anger. "I'm such a pussy!"

"He's your dad, baby. It's okay." I coaxed. "I don't know if I could kill my pop either. I could end some many motherfuckers, but to look into his face and end his life, I don't know if I could do it."

She continued to cry, but found a way to crack a joke through her sadness. "Don't worry. I won't hesitate with your dad. I'll be ready for him."

I poked her in the side, making her wince and slap my arm but she giggled and it was fucking music to my ears. "Stop joking about killing Pop, woman. First, it won't be easy."

"Never said I thought it would be," she retorted.

"And he's too much like me to give up so easy."

"I'm counting on that."

"And if you kill him, I'll kill Charlie."

She was silent for a minute and I thought I had won. I knew she really didn't want Charlie dead. "Fine," she said, shocking me.

"Fine?"

She pushed herself up to look me in the eye. Hers were cold yet contented. I liked what I saw. A very dangerous woman who would not go back on her word.

"Okay," I said with conviction. "It's a deal."

She held her hand out and I took it, shaking it. "There's no going back." I warned.

"I don't intend to."

We continued to sit there for a while, just staring at each other. I memorized her face. Every curve of what I could see on her body as she sat beside me. I openly admired the sexy woman I got to call mine.

I watched her chest rise and fall with every breath she took, letting it tempt me.

"What are you gawking at, Whitlock?"

I didn't answer. I reached her. Pulling her into me so I could plant my lips on hers in a heated kiss, I weaved my fingers with her short brown hair, gripping it tightly as I held her to me.

Her little sounds against my lips spurred me on until I placed her in my lap so I could kiss every spot I could reach. Her little sighs and soft whispers of my name were driving me nuts.

She shrugged off her jacket and I helped her out of her top. Our hands were each other's pants, working frantically to get the fucking zippers down. She won and when she pushed her hands inside my fucking fly and pulled my dick out, stroking it, I nearly had a heart attack.

"Oh fuck," I groaned. I hadn't got laid since our last time. I could have, but I didn't want anyone but her. And the angry sex we had on my bedroom floor in the penthouse felt like years ago to my dick. "I want you," I told her. "So fucking much."

She moved off my lap, getting back on the seat so we could pull her pants and underwear off. When she climbed back on top of me, I groaned in relief. "I need to be inside you."

Bella didn't answer verbally. Instead she lifted her hips and guided me into her warmth.

My head flew back against the seat because the shit felt so good. And when she started to ride me, I saw fucking stars.

We fucked. There was no better word for it. She rode me and I drove into her like there was no tomorrow while she begged me to be harder. Her grip on me was tight, almost painful, but I didn't care. I wanted this as much as she did.

I came a short while after she found her release, shooting cum within her depths, with a hoarse whisper of my love for her I felt like telling her. I felt like she needed to hear it.

She held me close.

I thought she was exhausted and ready to fall asleep on me. I was a little shocked to when I heard the telltale sounds of her sadness and feel the wetness of her tears on my neck.

"Bella," I said, moving her away so I could see her eyes. "Tell me."

"He wouldn't save you," she whispered like the shit was so painful to say. "Doesn't he see what you mean? It's not like he doesn't know what it feels like? He chose her! Why can't I choose you?"

I get it. Charlie not saying shit about helping her save me from impending doom was killing her. He had chose to even save Alice, someone Bella saw as a traitor, over me. And to her, I was of a lot more value than Alice. She thought Charlie would at least sympathize seeing as he had fallen for Renee, knowing she was the enemy's.

Admittedly, as she sat here, crying on my lap, I have never seen her look so small. "I thought he would even throw it out there as a last resort."

I had to let her know I understood.

"Hey, we didn't go there for me," I told her. "We went for you. You wanted to take his head off and you did." I wanted her to focus on herself. I would be okay. Yes, I wanted to live for her, but there was still a chance things might not end well for me. I wasn't the best person. I was a killer. And a lot of that shit, I wouldn't take back. I was who I was. She needed to face that at some point. Death would always be on my ass because I would have to pay the price for the things I have done in this life.

"No," Bella said, shaking her head. "He could've at least said something."

I needed to get through to her. I held her arms tightly, peering into her eyes. "I am not a nice person. I have done things to get what I want. To get where I am and I am very unapologetic about that shit, Bella. So death will come for me at some point."

She looked at me like I was being clever and rolled her eyes after sniffling. "Don't be an ass."

It made me smile. "I'm not!" I chuckled. "I'm not even trying to be philosophical and shit. I'm just stating my truth."

"You're an asshole," she deadpanned.

"I know," I said with a chuckle. "But I hate seeing you like this."

"But it wasn't enough!" She shouted. Her sadness was turning into rage. She got off of me and started reaching for her pants while she fumed.

I sat back for a while watching her mutter about everything not being enough. When I got tired of the talking to herself shit, I stopped paying attention to her and pushed my flaccid dick back in my pants and carefully zipped that shit up because I didn't need an accident right now. I didn't even know I was still hanging out there. But she was so cute when she was angry it was hard not to get distracted.

Bella was fuming as she got out of the truck and made her way into the house. I followed. I wasn't looking for an argument but I had to know. "What do you mean it wasn't enough?"

She spun back to me. "Do you realize the lengths he went to get Renee?"

"Why would he do that for me?" I questioned. "I wouldn't help the man I thought killed my kid, if I had one."

She scoffed and waved her hand dismissively. "That's irrelevant! I told him it wasn't you!"

"He doesn't believe you," I told her calmly.

You could see she didn't want to hear that but I couldn't care less. I loved her but she needed to get her stubborn ass set straight. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"He's not going to help me."

She looked perplexed. It made no sense to be angry with me. I wasn't lying to her. It hurt a little but I wasn't looking for a handout. I knew what I was getting myself into when I made the decision to do this.

"Jasper…" She sighed. "My da…Charlie has always been there. We're a team despite working for different agencies. We do our own thing. He didn't even offer me the option of the benefit of a doubt."

"Because of me." She had to see that her dad didn't offer his help and he was quick to make a deal with Eleazar because he only wanted to get his kids out before the shit hit the fan. "He only wants to get you and Rose out."

"Emmett's not his kid." She countered. "Why help him?"

I could see what she was getting at. "He's not going to help me, Bella," I said, dismissing whatever else she was thinking. "Listen, you know how to reach him."

"So what?"

"Then text him. Tell him you've changed your mind."

"Change my mind?" She sneered.

"Quit the getting mad shit!" I yelled. Did I have to spell it out for her? "Tell him you will meet him somewhere. I don't have to know where. All I know is you can go. You can escape this, Bella."

It burned me to say it, but if she wanted to go, if she was regretting staying, I wasn't going to stop her. It's not like I was keeping her here against her will.

The minute I said it, Bella made regret it. The slap she gave me across the face, echoed through the room. Fuck, that shit hurt like hell. It was taking all I had not to hit back. She could see it too. I was sure my eyes were filled with as much rage as hers right now. "Are you fucking crazy?!"

She moved to slap me again and I grabbed her hand, stopping her. "Don't."

Bella tried to take her hand from me, but I held tight. "Don't fucking hit me."

"Stop acting like an ass!"

"Don't shout at me."

I wasn't yelling. I knew I was getting my point across because I could see some of the rage leaving her eyes as I held her hand in a tight grip.

"I'm not going anywhere! God! You asshole!" she exclaimed with a lot less anger than she began with.

She yanked her hand away and stormed off because I allowed her. I watched her go upstairs.

Someone chuckled then Edward came into view. "She's got a lot of fire to her."

I chuckled. "She does, doesn't she?" I chose to forget my anger, letting that shit dissipate.

"I can't believe you let her get away with slapping the shit out of you, I can't believe what I just witnessed! It was the most badass thing I have ever seen, man!" He sounded proud of her.

"You sound like a fan," I deadpanned.

"After today…watching her shoot up her Dad's truck like a fucking gangster, I am," he said in amazement.

I was about to answer when my phone rang and I answered. "What is it?" It was Simon but the shit he was telling me couldn't be real. "I'll be right there."

I looked at Edward. "There are guards on the grounds. Stay close to Bella at all times until I get back. Leah!" I called after giving Edward my order. He nodded as Leah came in the room. "We have to go."

"I got the call," she said. She squeezed Edward's arm and he nodded in agreement to whatever that meant to them then Leah and I headed out the door.

When we got in my black Mercedes, she said, "It's starting."

I nodded. Except I didn't want it to start like this.

We rode in silence while I prepared myself for whatever I was about to walk into. A part of me was adamant about not believing what I had heard.

There was no way. It couldn't be true. They were still here and someone was messing with me.

I mean, I knew that had to be bullshit because no one would fuck around with me like this. Not unless they didn't like their teeth in their head 'cause I would knock those motherfuckers down a bastard's throat for making up some shit like this.

No. No one was that stupid.

Simon called again. He said they couldn't find Peter. I told him to keep my men looking. I didn't want anyone from Pop's crew or any of Aro's goons finding him before I did.

Leah pulled to a stop in front of my building. Some of my guys were out front along a few of Pop's guys. I walked past them.

There was also the police. Though their presence didn't mean shit to me. I was the one who was going to bring whoever did this to my type of justice.

My face was fucking stoic as I headed inside. I went straight to the elevator. Some rookie cops tried to tell us we couldn't go on the elevator. But some seasoned cops told the little punks to stay out of my way.

Leah and I got on the elevator and she pressed the button for Peter and Char's floor. She was calm. I was calm. Mostly because I was fucking deluding myself into thinking this shit wasn't real.

This was just a bad dream.

I remembered Char being willing to take care of Garrett once he was out of the hospital. She didn't like what Bella did to Garrett, but she saw a silver lining in all of this shit. To her, in some sick and twisted way, I had finally found the one for me. And for that, she was happy.

The elevator stopped on the floor. The doors opened and we got out. There was yellow tape everywhere. I walked past them. The cops up here didn't dare try to stop me. They just got out of my way. Simon met me at the door. The bloodied door. "Boss…" was all he said as he moved out of my way.

I made my way inside. The place was a mess. This shouldn't be. Charlotte was very particular about cleaning. She loved a clean home.

I could hear my own breath as I walked through the place. A cop from crime scene investigation was taking photos. I looked at the bastard but he kept taking pictures. I wanted to rip him apart.

Leah sensed my irk and ran his ass out.

I carefully went through the place and when I turned down the hall leading to the master bedroom, I saw Garrett lying there, face down. He had been shot multiple times. Mostly in the back. I stood over him before squatting down to run a hand through his bloodied hair, saying goodbye to a friend.

We led violent lives and had violent ends. We all expect this. Those were smart enough to think about it do. It was the least we could do.

I was taking the scene in. Trying to picture what happened.

Since the bedroom door was wide open, I could only surmise that Garrett was protecting Char. He was trying to buy her time to hide judging by the fatal wounds he had. He was using his body as a shield.

I stood and ventured into the room even though I didn't want to. Leah was already in there. She was covering Char's body.

"What are you doing?" I asked. My voice sounded foreign to me. It was a cross between anger and disbelief.

"You don't want to see her like this," Leah said as she stepped away.

"Tell me."

"Tell you what?" Leah whispered back.

"I don't want to think about what happened to her. I need someone to just tell me."

"I could get a cop," she said.

"Why?"

"Cause I don't want to think about what happened to her either," Leah said, her voice unusually slightly breaking. "This is my friend. I can't. I need someone to just tell me too."

She left for a minute with a guy then returned with a guy who introduced himself as Detective Range from Homicide. He started off by telling me what I had suspected about Garrett. He died trying to protect Char. It was easy to see. Charlotte was loveable. She was so affectionate that even the hardest criminals melted at her pleasantries. She had a smile that could light up a room. And a heart…a heart of fucking gold. She was one of my closest friends. She was there when I was broken. When my mom died and I felt like a part of me died with her, Char helped me.

"The female victim," the detective started begrudgingly like he didn't see why he was reporting to me. "She was raped and murdered."

I looked at him. Really looked in the fucker's eyes. He flinched. "What?" he asked.

"What?" I repeated.

He chuckled while trying not to look directly into my eyes. "You're a little unnerving."

"Good." I told him. "I'm not here to make you feel comfortable. I want to know what happened to my friend! I don't give a shit about you!" And I know you don't want to tell me shit, but fuck if I care!"

"Hey, listen…" He started, trying to be authoritative with me.

"No." I dismissed him. "You listen to me. You work for me."

He looked puzzled. "Yeah, you work for me because I own your boss. What? You think if you go don't have to report to me? You think you can b rude to me and get away with it? Try me."

"Hey, listen…" He scoffed with a nervous chuckle. "I don't want trouble."

I grabbed him by the throat, squeezing the hell out of him as I backed him into the wall, slamming him into it. "Then stop wasting my time and tell me what happened! You see that woman lying there?" I angled the asshole's head so he could look at Char's…body. "She was a good woman! A great person! Don't you fucking judge her! And when I let you breathe again, I better not hear shit about you suspecting her husband for this!"

I let him go and he fell to his knees, choking and coughing.

"Now tell me what happened." I ordered in a stern yet calm tone.

After leaving the scene, I was in turmoil. I went to my penthouse in a fit of rage. Michael was there and I ran him out. I didn't want sympathy or to hear any fucking thing from anyone. I wrecked the place as tears streamed down my face over the lost of Charlotte. She was such a sweet person. I didn't want to lose her. And the way it happened…I couldn't even stomach to think about it. To think about her going through such agony.

I left my wrecked place just as Pop got there with Aro. I wasn't in the mood. I vaguely heard my father as he said his condolences to my friend and vowed to help with anything needed for the funeral. Aro had a smug little look on his face I wasn't sure was real or not, but that shit bothered me. Seeing his bitch, Jane, with him, looking at me like she thought I would be afraid to make a move on them because they were standing with Pop, pissed me off even more.

So as I went by, I punched her in the face, sending her flying to ground. I was subliminally telling her and Aro that I wasn't afraid of shit.

Aro spun around angrily and I cocked an eyebrow at the motherfucker, challenging him to do something about it. Simon and Leah had their guns pointed at him so if he felt like starting some shit, I was more than ready to finish it for him.

I was in 'I don't give a shit' mood already anyways. My good friend had been tortured and murdered because of me and I felt like a fucking loser for not being there to stop it.

I wanted to do something. Anything to rectify this mistake.

"Make a move," I said to Aro, egging him on. "Do it. Make a fucking move."

He didn't. Instead, he helped his slut up from the floor. She wouldn't dare look at me but Aro wasn't afraid to. In fact, he backed away, showing Pop he wasn't about to retaliate, and said with an eerie smile plastered on his fucking face. "It's hard when everything you love comes tumbling down, doesn't it?"

Was that admittance of his involvement in Char and Garrett's death? I would like to think it was. So I nod at him with an evil grin on my face as I stepped right up to him, getting into his face.

"Jasper," Pop said in a warning tone. "Back off!"

I wasn't about to listen to the old man.

"Me and you, Aro. Our day is coming."

I walked away without another word.

I don't remember the ride back to the house. All I heard was my heart was pounding while my head spun. I vaguely remember nodding at whatever Simon said to me when Leah dropped him off somewhere. I was too blinded by grief and angry. I wanted to destroy everything I could get my hands on.

When we got to the house, I headed straight for the office, slamming the door shut behind me. I needed a strong drink. I was seeing Char's body, lying on her side across her bed, naked under the white sheet Leah had covered her with, in my head. And it wouldn't go away. If it wasn't her, I was imagining them shooting Garrett in the back and my best guy being the bastard he was, holding on until Char tried to hide.

One thing I knew for certain, this was the work of the Chekovs. The scene said it all. It was sadistic and unforgiving. It was meant for me to see it that way.

I knocked back rounds of whiskey. I didn't want to see straight.

The door opened and closed.

"Get the fuck out!" I shouted at whoever it was.

"All I want is a drink," Bella said from behind me.

I turned to her. "Go."

"No."

"I don't mean that." I told her. "Go to your father. This shit is real and I don't want to see you like that. I'll arrange a ride or you can take any fucking car you want, but Bella, please, go."

She sighed as she got close. She came around the desk and sat on top of it. She took the drink out of my hand and downed it. "Damn, that feels good."

"Go," I repeated quietly. I could feel myself breaking and I didn't want to do it in front of her.

"Come here," she said in return.

Without a fight, I stood, towering over her. I let her pull me into her arms before I broke down on her shoulder. I cried while I thought about Char. I hugged Bella tight, wanting to never see her that way. "I can't see you like that." I told her. "I can't do it."

She pulled back. Her face strong and her emotions guarded. "You won't. They stole Char, and I'm sorry but they are going to steal more from you. They want you to suffer before you fall."

"Is this supposed to make me feel better?" I retorted. She was doing a piss poor job at it if it was.

"No," she said in a firm tone. "This is to let you know that we're gonna kill 'em all. They're all going to pay for this. We can't leave any of the Chekovs alive. Neither any of their associates."

"Like Aro and Jane?" I felt optimism, knowing I would kill them for what they had done. They had to be involved somehow and I was going to make them pay.

"Especially them." She smiled. "Now for the hard part…tell me what happened."

As hard as it was to relive, I became an open book. I told Bella about the scene. About Garrett and Char. I told her what I had learned and she agreed with my suspicions. I told her what the cop, Detective Range, said happened about Char and how hard it was to hear about her suffering before she died.

Bella offered me her sincerest condolences but stressed that we had to find Peter.

"Okay." I staggered a little when I stepped back.

"First, we need to sober you up," she said. "We can't let them catch you off guard."

"I just wanted to…"

"No," she said coldly. "We can't grieve. Not yet. Right now we've got get you cleaned up because you smell like a crime scene and you look like shit. After that, we'll plan what we're going to do next. We have to be strategic about this. They can't see it coming. We've got give them the safety net of your naiveté toward their plan. Then we strike."

"And kill them all?"

"Yes." Bella smiled with fire in her eyes. "We kill them all," she said with finality.

She took my hand and made to lead me from the room. I stopped her to ask, "Why are you doing this?"

"Because I love you," she said, giving me a kiss on the lips. "And you're hurting. And I've never done this, made someone else feel better, but I want to…with you. I want to make things better. That's why we have to plan. I want to make them hurt because they are hurting you."

I pulled her back into a kiss, pouring my all into it. And when we came up for air, she smiled and led me out of the office. There was no one in the living room. Bella led me up the stairs to her bedroom and then to the bathroom. In there, she turned on the shower and stripped us. She got in with me and proceeded to wash my body while she talked to me. It was simple things. Things that really meant nothing mingled with a few memories from her childhood.

Once we were clean, we got out, dried off, wrapped towels around ourselves and left the bathroom.

We got dressed in the bedroom. Me in a pair of pajama pants and she in her underwear and one of my shirts. She took me to bed with her but I couldn't sleep so we talked.

We talked until I started to drift off and eventually fell asleep.

I woke up later in the night, disentangled myself from Bella's arms and left the bedroom. The house was quiet while I headed downstairs for something to drink. I went into the kitchen and got a bottle of water from the fridge and drank it. On my way back, a knock at the front door stopped me.

"Who do you think it is?" Bella's voice almost made me fucking jump out of my skin.

"Don't fucking do that!" I whisper-yelled at her.

She rolled her eyes. "Who do you think it is?" she repeated then asked. "How many people know about this place?"

"Not that many." I made sure of it. This house was a haven away from everything else. I wanted it to be Bella's place in case I didn't make it out so no one outside of who I intended knew about it.

She gave me a gun and then cocked hers. We made our way to the door. I placed my hand on the knob and Bella got behind the door. She nodded and I opened it, shocked to see who was standing there.

"They killed her, Jas." Peter cried as he came forward and threw himself into my arms. "They killed Char!"


	27. Peter

_**Bella, 2006**_

Jasper pulled Peter over to the couch while the latter bawled his eyes out. I quickly checked outside before slamming the door shut and locking it. I spotted Leah and Edward as they made their way down the stairs and I thought to myself, "Do those two actually sleep or do they just wait on Jasper to make a move and then follow him?"

"She's gone!" Peter screamed while he hung onto Jasper like a lifeline.

Jasper was silent as he let his friend unburden his grief on him though I knew this tragedy was equally killing him. Just a few hours ago, Jasper was the one in Peter's position needing someone to be there for him though he wouldn't outright admit it.

"I wasn't there!" Peter sobbed. "I should've been! If I was, I would've begged them to kill me instead." He went on.

"They would've just killed her in front of you if you had been there and asked that."

Everyone looked at me in shocked horror and I tried to hold back the laugh. And if they thought I wasn't going to address the dumb looks on their faces, they had another thing coming.

"What?" I started. "You think I wasn't to going to say it?" I looked at Jasper as I said this. "I was just giving you some time."

"I don't think this is the right time," he said through clenched teeth. His anger was tethering on an edge and if I pushed him off with what I was about to do next, so be it.

I cut my eyes from him and looked at Peter. I took in his disheveled appearance and I analyzed the look of horror and sadness on his face. There was also confusion. He looked like a broken man.

But this could be an act. How could we be sure he wasn't involved? They killed Charlotte and didn't hunt him down?

"Where were you?" I asked as Edward came into my line of sight. He was looking at me angrily while Leah looked at Peter in grief and suspicion. Good. At least she had questions too. Jasper looked like he wasn't sure if he should choke me or split me in two.

Peter looked from Jasper to me. He eased himself away from his friend's embrace and sat away from him. He took a deep breath and said in a calm tone, "You think I'm involved in this? You think I killed my wife, you bitch?"

I smiled at the insult and kept my gun cocked and ready to go if he tried anything. "You said it, not me." Yeah, I was fucked up for accusing a grieving man but so be it. I wasn't about to risk Jasper unnecessarily because he was feeling sentimental.

Peter got up from the couch and walked past me, making his way to the door. "I came to the wrong place. I thought…"

"What'd you think?" I turned to him and asked. I could feel the others eyes on the back of my head, burning holes into it with their fiery gazes.

Peter stopped and looked at me with this predatory look on his face. Then he looked me up and down scornfully. "You aren't even half the woman my wife was, and I still would have tried to save you because I know how in love with you Jasper is."

"Still doesn't answer my question." I snapped back, trying to cover how affected I truly was by what he had just said. Even if he probably hated me for asking something so aloof and sounding like a heartless bitch in regards to his wife untimely passing, he would still protect me. For Jasper.

The loyalty they all had for him was very moving. It showed me Jasper and his friends were more of a family than him and his old man, though I knew Jasper would stand up for Nicky Whitlock in a heartbeat, showing me how invested he was in those he loved.

"Bella," Jasper said in a warning tone. "Back off."

"I want to know why you came here," I said to Peter, choosing to ignore Jasper and pressing on. "I want to know how you know this location and that he was here. And where were you when your wife was being killed?"

Peter turned away from me and I readied myself for whatever move he might use in retaliation for what I just said.

He didn't do anything.

He fell to his knees and chuckled once or twice before saying, "You love Jasper."

"What?" I sneered. I did but that wasn't what I asked and this wasn't about me and my love.

"I loved Char," he said with another chuckle. "So much I could hardly breathe when she wasn't near. And when I saw her again, my heart…it would beat out of control. It felt like it wanted to burst out of my chest. My happiest days have been with her. I know the life we lived had a consequence, but Bella, not like this. Not like this." He got off his knees and turned to me with a gun in his hand.

I heard another two being clicked behind me.

"What the hell are you two doing?" I heard Jasper say to, I assume, Edward and Leah.

Peter looked at them with a smile. It was a different smile. It was…peaceful. He then turned his attention back to me. "I apologize for calling you a bitch. I didn't mean it. As for how I know about this place, Jasper's good but I'm better. Since we were kids I have always been good at figuring things out, even the deepest of secrets. So I would know where he went and why he would come to you because I would've ran to Char too. I knew he bought this place for you. He can be ostentatious when he wants to be. Don't pay him any mind. He doesn't mean you any bad by it. He just wants to give you something." My heart pounded for some unknown reason while he spoke. There was also an eerie calm to him that wasn't there when he first arrived. That disheveled man was gone and in his place stood a man who was very sure of himself and whatever he was about to do or say next.

"I wasn't with Char because I was following Jasper's advice about leaving. I knew I could," he said with a chuckle. "Actually, Char, going back on her word of staying by Jasper's side in what's about to go down, decided we should take his warning and go. She wanted to do as he said. At first, she resisted, but then, she came to see it as the right thing to do because Jasper has never led us astray. She was loyal to him."

"Without fault," I added, making Peter smile.

"Exactly, without fault…to the end." He choked up on the last part. "My provisions had gone through the way I hoped and I was returning to collect her and Garrett because she wasn't about to leave him behind either. And that's when…"

"What did you see?"

"I got there before the cops. I called the cops. I couldn't let it go down like that. I called them and threw my phone away afterwards." He explained. "I wanted her found…I saw Garrett in the hallway, but…" he choked up and began sobbing. "Her! On the bed…I wanted to…"

"You were right not to touch her. You were right," I said calmly. I could see he was telling the truth. He might be good at figuring shit out but I was great at it. He wasn't lying his ass off to get in here so he could murder Jasper. He actually ran to his friend for comfort. "I'm sorry for accusing you. I'm deeply sorry about what happened to Charlotte. Garrett and I were enemies but he didn't deserve to be killed like a dog either."

A bit of the tension in the room eased at my declaration.

Some moments can stay with you. And some, you wish you could forever change. In this moment, I would always question myself about what I could have done differently, and I will never have the right answer.

"He loves you," Peter said, his voice making everyone fade away as I focused solely on him. His eyes were alight with something. A sense of peace. The same his smiles have been holding since he started explaining himself to me. "Jasper…I thought about him as this problem child after his mom died and I worried about him when I met Char, hoping like hell he'd find someone to love too. A girl who could guide him from the darkness from time to time. I can see he has that now and I'm thankful."

He looked away from me and to Jasper, who was now standing beside me. "Thank you," he said to Jasper. "For everything. You're my best friend."

"I know that," Jasper said. "Why don't you come with me so Carlisle can give you something to sleep? We're going to handle it. I'm gonna make them pay for this."

Peter gave him an eerie smile. "I know you will." Then he put his gun to his temple and pulled the trigger. Jasper and I screamed at him and were running toward him but it was in vain. I was only close enough to catch him as he collapsed to the floor.

I held him to me. Hugging him like he was my own brother as I whispered my own promise of avenging him and Char while he took his last breath. Jasper was hugging the both of us. His face buried in the back of my neck breathing harshly before he let go and jumped up and made his way to the front door. He opened it then stormed outside into the dead of night.

I didn't go after him.

"Bella, you have to let him go." Edward's voice broke through my silence. "Let Dad do his work."

He pulled me away; carefully prying Peter from my tight embrace. He laid him down gently and then Carlisle came and kneel over Peter. I don't know why he was checking anything. Peter was gone and it was my fault.

"It's not your fault," Carlisle said in a gruff voice. How did he know what I was thinking? Was it written on my face? He looked up at me and I tried to hold back my tears. Carlisle hated me and I wasn't about to let him see me in a weak state. He gave me a slight smile. "Peter wasn't going to live without Char." He added.

"I pushed him." I was the one at fault. I was insensitive and it led to a grieving man…

"You didn't kill him!" Carlisle jumped up and was in my face. But what was more surprising was that he was holding me by the shoulders and shaking me. Making me understand and accept his truth. "Peter came here to tell his friend goodbye. The guy walked in here with a plan. Do you understand me?"

I nodded. "But, I…."

"You couldn't have stopped him." Carlisle concluded as he let me go and took a step back. "Even if you were lucky enough to get to him in time, he probably would have just found another way."

I chuckled darkly and admitted the other thing that was bothering me. "Yeah. One where Jasper didn't now hate every fiber of my being."

Carlisle didn't have an answer for me and I didn't wait around for him to come up with one. I turned and walked away.

I went upstairs and headed for the bathroom. I turned on the light and stood in front of the mirror looking at my bloodied clothes. I have had to wash off blood more times than I should in my short lifetime but this one…it hit me really hard.

I took my clothes off and got in the warm shower where I cleaned myself up and cried. This war would have causalities, but this…Peter and Charlotte, it really hurt.

I got out of the shower. Jasper still wasn't back yet. I went to the bedroom after drying off to get dressed. I briefly thought about going after him but then decided against it. I was the last person he wanted to see right now.

I blamed myself all through getting dressed despite what Carlisle said about it not being my fault. My side was nudging me. The pain was getting to the point of being unbearable but I ignored it as I saw him step into the room.

Everything in me froze.

"I'm sorry." I got it out so quietly I almost thought he didn't hear me until he looked at me with such anger I thought he was going to say fuck it and kill me on the spot.

I opened my mouth to say something else but Jasper beat me to it. "Don't. Not fucking word. I don't want to hear a word outta you." The hate in his voice hit me like a ton of bricks. In his eyes, my rude insistence pushed his best friend to kill himself. Carlisle was wrong and I was right. This was my fault. Jasper's hatred for me right now proved it.

I watched as he changed into a suit and then grabbed his phone, another one of his guns and walked out.

I didn't see him again.

It was a week later and Charlotte and Peter's funeral was today. I shouldn't be here, but I was. I loved him and I had to make sure he was safe. Nicky Whitlock was sitting beside Jasper while Michael sat on the other end. Peter and Charlotte's caskets were in front of them as the priest spoke over Jasper's friends. Garrett had been cremated. His service was yesterday and his ashes were placed in a Columbarium, a room or sort here in the same cemetery, where urns were kept.

Jasper's eyes remained fixed on the caskets. He didn't move. It was as if he was stone.

Through the scope of my M24 sniper rifle, I spotted Leah standing over Jasper's right shoulder. I knew she was armed and ready for anything. Simon was flanking his left.

Leah knew I would be here, somewhere, with Edward as my spotter, just in case someone tried something.

We were here for Garrett's funeral yesterday too.

Jasper wasn't speaking to me but I wasn't going to leave him alone. I made a promise I intended to keep.

Aro and Jane were sitting, more like moving around on their seats like dogs in heat, probably wanting a fix, beside Nicky Whitlock. He surprised me how the man who gave life to Jasper wasn't as smart as he was. How could Nicky trust someone like Aro Volturi so completely?

I wasn't going to focus on that. I was here for Jasper.

Leah was wearing a wire so I could hear what everyone who came within a few feet of her was saying. Edward and I were tuned in and could the priest as he said the final prayers.

The Chekovs had the audacity to show up. The leader, Vladimir and his son and enforcer, an equivalent to Jasper, Sergei, were here. Jasper was radiating with anger when Vladimir spoke to him earlier, offering his false condolences. You could almost feel the rage coming from Jasper through the wire tap as he answered the man he blamed for Char, and inadvertently, Peter's, death.

The funeral service ended and everyone got up to leave as they began lowering the caskets in the graves. Charlotte and Peter would be buried beside one another. Nicky whispered to Jasper but he didn't move. He remained still as no one had spoken and Nicky shook his head and left him.

So Edward and I stayed too. As did Simon and Leah, who sat behind him, waiting.

Jasper didn't leave the cemetery until the graves were completely covered. He had sat there the whole time watching the grave diggers as they completed their work.

He sat there like a stone.

Since the night he spoke to me in the bedroom, we haven't talked since. But I wasn't going anywhere. I wouldn't lose him. I would be here, making sure he got out of this mess alive.

It has been five days since the funeral and I finally have what I wanted. I held the file opened as I paced Jasper's or my office in the house he bought me while I read Char's autopsy report over again. I was looking for the clues that would lead me to her killer. There was more than one person, who entered her apartment, but I was looking for the main guy and I have found him. I should have known it would be him.

Alexei Chekov.

This was his MO. His method of operation. This was his thing. The way he liked to hurt women. He would attack, if there were more guys with him, he would order them to beat you and then he would rape you when you're weakened and then go in for the kill.

He tried it on his own with me, but it didn't work out. And Charlotte wasn't like me. She wasn't a fighter. She was the one you would protect. She always had the guys around to protect her just as Garrett was trying to do.

Alexei must have found it so entertaining.

"What'd you find?" Leah said, interrupting my plan of action. I had an idea but it was going to be crazy dangerous and would ignite fire under many of these motherfuckers asses, but I didn't care. He attacked me and he killed a woman who didn't do him shit. Probably for fun! The bastard was going down. I just had to draw his ass out. And then I would have my way.

"The person who killed Char and Garrett."

"What?" Leah came over and grabbed the report from me. She began to read hoping to see what I saw. "How do you see that from an autopsy report?"

"I guess I'm little like Peter," I said, choking back a sob. His death still affected me. It was strange. I had never had someone's death, at least outside of my family, affect me so much. "I'm good at figuring shit out."

Leah smiled. "If he were here, he would probably be proud to hear that shit."

I started to cry and found myself in Leah's arms. She held me tight, coaxing me, telling me it was okay. It wasn't my fault. It was the same shit Carlisle had said that night but I couldn't forget.

"I wish I had reacted differently," I said as I let her go and sat on the edge of the desk. "I was wrong."

"You wanted to know why he was here and with everything being so tense and knowing there are people gunning after Jasper, you naturally wanted to protect him. Feelings be damned. Am I right?"

I nodded as I continued to sob.

"You've got to check this crying shit out though," she said and I punched her on the arm, making her chuckle. "No. Seriously! You sure you're not pregnant? Don't we get emotional and shit when we're pregnant?"

"Shut up and get back to your boss!" I laughed through my tears.

"Checking in later?" I have been checking with Leah on Jasper's condition since the funeral. He wasn't doing too good. He has been drinking excessively and not as focused on anything as he should be. He just wanted to numb the pain.

"Yeah."

"Okay. Later."

"Later."

I picked up the file from the floor and read through it again after Leah left, assessing what to do next. Alexei was a big guy to take on. And doing it on my own was going to be hell. But I had to. For Char. For Peter. For Jasper. I would make him pay.


	28. Pop

_**Jasper, 2006**_

"You can't be serious!" I shouted in disbelief then threw the drink in the back of my throat and slammed the glass down on the desk.

He looked hurt before he said in a pleading tone, "Jasper, come on, this is for Pops."

"Michael, I just buried my two best friends…" He had no idea how understanding and patient I was trying to be with him when all I wanted to do was knock him out for even suggesting this shit to me. "And you want me to act all cheery at my father's birthday party which you motherfuckers want to hold in my club?"

"You can't be this dumb, Michael." He looked a little angry but I couldn't care less. This was the dumbest shit I have heard all morning. "It's not possible. I partially raised you so there's no way you can be this insensitive."

"But Jasper…"

"But what?" I chuckled as I made my way around my desk and took a seat on the edge of it in front of him. "I can be a fucking bastard, little brother, but I know how to show respect for certain things." He moved to go on and I hold a hand up to stop him. "And having a fucking birthday party at my club where I will be expected to participate is not the right move at the moment. Do you understand?"

I might be as sober as I should be but I thought I got my point across perfectly. There was no way Michael could get around that shit.

My brother looked thoughtful. Like he was choosing the right shit to say in order to convince me.

He was barking up the wrong fucking tree right now. Why was he pushing this? I didn't want any part of it. And there was no way he was going to convince to do shit. The only person who could do that was my best friend, Peter, who was now buried beside his wife after he blew his brains out in front of me. He was the one who could talk me into doing shit or thinking twice before making a move.

"Jas," Michael started with my nickname and I knew shit was about to come spewing out of his mouth. "We're gonna lose people we love to this life. It's a given. We've just got to move on and celebrating Pops birthday might be a good way for you to do that."

I had considered not losing it and beating my brother into a bloody pulp before he said that shit. But then he said it and I had no choice, I punched him in the face, knocking him on his ass right out of the chair and onto the floor where he stared up at me in shock as he held his bruised jaw.

"Get the fuck outta here!" I said with menace. "I don't want to see you for the rest of the day."

He got up and ran from my office just as Leah entered. I went and poured myself another drink.

Leah was just getting off the phone and had a small smile on her face. I polished off my drink and slammed the glass down. I have been deeply invested in whiskey since Peter and Char…died.

"You know, your father is gonna get his way and you will be hosting his birthday party whether you like it or not."

"Thanks for pointing the obvious out to me," I said to her sarcastically.

She shrugged and rolled her eyes at me. "Thought you should know."

"I do." I grumbled.

Leah and I hadn't been as tight as we used to be since Peter and Char's passing and my blaming Bella. I don't know how it happened, but she and Bella have seemed to have become friends in a way.

I knew Leah was disappointed in me. And that shit kind of hurt. I knew I wasn't myself. But I had a right to grieve how I saw fit.

Every day I blamed someone else for my friends' passing when I should be blaming myself. I knew Michael was right. We would eventually lose those we loved to our type of living. It was fast paced and the money and blood came easy so why shouldn't we lose it just as quickly?

God! I was now annoying myself with philosophical shit.

I took another drink.

"Are you gonna stop that any time soon?" Leah asked with annoyance lacing her tone.

"I don't know."

"I know why you're doing it."

"Why?" I asked, teasing her.

Leah smiled. "You don't want to accept the truth because it would mean you failed."

"I failed?" I turned to her, giving her my full attention. If she said anything to piss me off, I would lose my shit.

Leah looked unperturbed. "Yes. You warned Peter and he told Char. And still, both of them stayed. But what did you expect? Even though Peter eventually changed his mind and decided to follow your orders about getting out of dodge. He and Char were loyal. Just like I am. Leaving you to do anything that could mean the end of you isn't the first thought we have. We don't want to lose you. And we will go to great lengths to protect you even when you're being an asshole."

I wanted to be angry at her, but couldn't. She was basically telling me she wasn't going to leave me to do this on my own.

"You also feel guilty about Peter and Char because it means if you couldn't stop their demise, what about Bella? What's stopping you from losing her too?"

She was right about Bella. I was very worried and I wanted her to run to Charlie, but how could I convince her to if I didn't want to talk to her because I was too much of a pussy to? In a way I was afraid of what she would say. I acted like a complete ass to her. Would she still want to be with me or was it over? I thought staying away from her would give me time to come to my senses and stop being a dick. But I have instead chosen to drink myself into a drunken stupor to numb the pain.

Leah's voice broke through my thoughts. "Just so you know, you father's excuse is gonna be it's almost been a month since Peter and Char…passed. And we both know Nicky Whitlock isn't known for his sensitivity or patience. He loves it when shit goes his way."

Of course she was right again. Pop would have his way but I was choosing not to answer what she had just said because we both knew it was the truth. And as stubborn as I wanted to be, I knew Pop wasn't going to quit his life for a while to mourn my friends' passing with me even if he had known them all their lives.

He could be a mean fuck.

She still had a slight smile on her face. Like she was thinking about something that pleased her. "What's got you smiling? Edward calling for phone sex?"

"No," she simply said.

Edward had resigned from the FBI and they were now investigating him but he didn't care since he had joined the agency for the family anyways as an Intel agent. And with the Chekovs, lying in wait, getting ready to strike again, though according to Pops when I told him this, he said it was all in my head. He could be so damn stubborn. I was glad my cousin quit the agency because I wanted him away from Banner's grasp. I could protect him better this way.

" _Although I doubt I could seriously protect anyone at the moment."_ I thought as I took another drink.

Then it hit me. Fuck! I knew who it was. I knew who Leah had been talking to.

"Tell her to stop calling you." I didn't want to speak with Bella. Not because I hated her for cornering Peter before he…

No. I didn't know what to say to her since I had been such a dick to her. I mean, yeah, I kind of blamed her for Peter, but it wasn't entirely her fault. That night, her questions as invading as they were, she was just trying to keep me safe the way she knew how.

When it happened that night, I wanted someone to blame and she was right there ready to take the punishment so I laid it at her feet, and now, I had gone too long without apologizing for being an asshole. It had been almost a month without direct contact with her, and she was still checking up on me to make sure I was okay! She was remarkable. And I was such a dick. I knew I didn't deserve Bella but I was too selfish to let her go.

"She doesn't want to disturb your drinking," Leah snapped back.

"Watch yourself," I warned while glaring at her.

She challenged my look with a hard glare of her own. "Or you'll what? Kill me with whiskey breath?" she said as she moved closer with a sigh and rolling her eyes at me in disgust.

A part of me cared. Another part was telling her to go fuck herself.

"She's calling because she's worried about you and she's afraid to…" I laughed at her. Bella wasn't afraid of shit. Leah took a deep, hard breath and continued, "She's afraid to talk to you because she feels like you blame her for Peter."

"I do."

"You don't mean that."

I snapped at Leah. "Don't fucking tell me what I mean! You don't know what I am thinking! Peter walked in and she fucking went off on him like he was a criminal! Like he had killed Char!"

Leah stayed calm while I backed away, muttering to myself as I went for another drink. I poured myself a glass and was about to drink it when it was taken away from me and the glass was smashed against the wall. I drew my weapon and suddenly Leah and I were in a standoff with our guns cocked and pointed at each other.

"This is why Bella calls," she said then whispered, "She does it because she's in love with you and wants to keep you alive. Though right now I'm not sure why since you're acting like she killed Char and helped Peter put the gun to his head."

"She might as well have," I countered.

Leah smirked. "Yet, she didn't. So talking like that. It isn't you. It's the fucking liquor talking. Its making you act like a prick and I know you, Jasper. You're far better than that!"

I scoffed and she continued. "Personally, I think Peter came to you to say his goodbyes and then he did what he had to in order to be with his love. He wasn't going to live without Charlotte, Jasper. We both knew how much those two loved each other."

"I supposed you're going to blab about understanding that shit, right?"

"Don't need to," she said with a shrug as she placed her gun back in its holster. "You know exactly how he felt. You'd die for Bella."

With that, she walked out of my office and I spent the rest of the afternoon alone.

Leah drove me back to the penthouse but it was done in silence. Pops came by. He was there to go off on me for beating up Michael.

Oh please! Like one hit to the jaw could be justified as a fucking beatdown. But I should have known since my brother was a spoiled brat. Of course he would run to Pop complaining like a little bitch. In my drunken state today, I had forgotten that shit.

I was belligerent but I got my point across to Pop, letting him know exactly how I felt. I wasn't in the fucking mood to hold a birthday party for him when I was still in mourning.

Pop wasn't having it. I rolled my eyes at most of the crap he was saying but when he made some offhanded remark about me acting like I had been fucking Peter and I needed to buck the fuck up and stop the mourning shit because it wasn't going to bring my friends back, I lost it and nearly shot him. Simon had to step in and take my gun away.

I ran my father out of my place, but he didn't leave until he won the argument and told me his party will be held at my club, New Moon Lounge, in three days before storming out.

After our argument, I drank myself into a mess and fell asleep on my home office's floor.

A nagging buzzing feeling on my left side woke me up some time later. It was my phone. With my eyes still closed, I pulled it from my pocket and answered it, "What?"

No answer.

"What?"

No answer.

"Fine. Go fuck yourself," I said and threw the phone away and went back to sleep.

I was woken up later by Simon who was standing over me.

"Boss, we've got to go," he said with haste. What the fuck was so urgent? I didn't want to see Pop so soon. And I knew this had to be his doing.

"Where?"

"Your pop is holding a meeting." That motherfucker!

"With?" I asked as I got to my feet.

Simon looked reluctant to say. "Spit it out!" I snapped at him. "With who?"

"The Chekov. Vladimir."

"What the fuck?" I jumped up from the floor and staggered a little. My head was spinning, but there was no time to fix that shit. I would just have a drink after I went to this fucking meeting.

What was Pop up to?

Leaving the office, I made my way to my bedroom. Simon was waiting outside the door. I went straight to the closet and tried not to think of Char and her little comments as I picked out a suit. She would have agreed with me for picking the black Tom Ford suit with the white shirt.

I was in and out of the shower in no time. I got dressed and sleeked my hair back and was out the door with Simon trailing behind me as we made our way to the front door. I stopped us so I could myself a glass of whiskey from the trolley close to the front door. I had it moved there with my favorite whiskey and a few glasses after I came back home so I could have a drink every time I passed it.

I could feel the judgment in Simon's gaze as I drank so I slammed the glass down and asked him what his problem was.

"Nothing, sir."

I nodded and went to the door, yanking it open to see Leah standing on the other side. She looked me up and down and then turned and walked away.

I had to admit her silence was bothering me. I hated that she wasn't with me right now. Since she had befriended Bella, she has become defensive of her and hated that I was ignoring Bella so what was I supposed to expect? Leah was loyal to her friends.

We got downstairs and went to my ride. Simon held my door open for me. I climbed in. After shutting my door, he got in the front with Leah in the driving seat and we were off.

The silence was deafening. So I broke it. "Maybe you should leave," I said to Leah.

She glanced at me through the mirror. "And where would that leave you?"

"I'll be fine." I scoffed.

"No," she said, disagreeing. "You're definitely not fine."

"Edward wants you around."

"Bella wants you around," she said in a counter attack.

"She hates me." I scoffed again. "I would hate me."

"She understands," Leah said. And it was all we said. The rest of the drive was spent in silence all the way to my warehouse. The warehouse where James died.

Why did Pop want to hold his meeting here? What was going on?

Leah pulled into the lot. There were many other cars there and a few bodyguards loitering around. Some were chatting and others were having a smoke. They turned their attention to my parked SUV while Leah and Simon got their guns out, checked the clips and didn't holster them. Instead they kept them in hand. I moved to get one of mine out and Leah told me not to bother.

"Why the hell not?" I hissed at her.

"Because you don't need to," she replied. She thought I was too drunk to handle a weapon.

I knew I was fine. I only had one drink since morning. But the doubt my most trusted guard had in me was waking me up from the drunken haze I had been under.

I looked at Leah as we got out of the truck. I grabbed onto her arm, forcing her to look at me. The slight look of scorn in her eyes really fucking hurt. And the doubt written all over her face was overwhelming.

"I'll be fine." She looked confused as I went on. "From now on, I'll be fine. I promise."

Leah and Edward and Carlisle…and Bella were all willing to do so much for me, the least I could do was get my head out of my ass and finish what I started. There would be ample time to grieve but even Peter wouldn't want me moping around. He would want me out here, finding our enemies and making them pay.

I walked into the warehouse with my guards armed and flanking me. More of my crew was already there and walked in behind myself, Leah and Simon like a small army. These fuckers were showing our enemies were their loyalty lied. With me.

I spotted Pops with Aro by his side as he spoke to Vladimir. The three men looked at my small army flanking me with devious smiles on their faces. Each one meaning something else. Pop was looking at the loyalty my men were showing. Aro was probably marking them as targets, 'cause that motherfucker was deep into this shit, and Vladimir was looking at enemies he needed to eliminate.

Vladimir smiled his leering smile in greeting to me while he gave Leah the once over. I didn't have to look back at her to know her face was neutral. Leah wouldn't offend him by giving away how disgusted she was with him looking at her like a piece of meat. But if he touched her, she wouldn't be so inclined to his advances. She would send him straight to Hell.

"Ah! Jasper, you have joined us," Vladimir said in his thick accent.

"Good morning," I said to them all.

Aro had a teasing smile on his face. He and I knew what happened here. "Why here?" I asked, directing my question at Pop. He was about to answer when Aro jumped in with that taunting smile on his face.

"Well, I'm sure you're familiar with the place, baby blue."

If he thought I was about to lose it, he might be right. But not yet. I wanted to fucking kill the bastard but there will be time enough for it later. Right now I wanted to know what this meeting was about.

"I know the place," I said with annoyance lacing my tone. "I want to know why we're meeting here."

"Vladimir wanted to address your suspicions, Jasper."

I knew I heard my father's voice but he had to be speaking gibberish because there was no way he just said he and Vladimir talked about my suspicions of the Chekovs being involved in Peter and Char's demise. He did not talk to the enemy!

Aro's smile grew while Vladimir's son and enforcer, Sergei, eyed me with interest. I could feel the tension rising in the room. Did I bring Leah and Simon and my men to their death?

"Listen, I want to settle Jasper's mind," Vladimir said in calm and understanding tone that told me his deceptive ass had marked me because my father went and blabbed like a bitch! "We are not involved. What happened to your pretty friend was tragedy and then I heard husband killed himself. Are you sure he didn't kill wife?"

I was offended and seriously wanted to hurt him for fucking suggesting Peter killed Char and Garrett.

"I'm sure it wasn't him," I said calmly.

This was an ambush and any acting out on my part would equal disaster. I had to play it cool though I was dying to fucking end them.

"Well, I can offer assistance in finding who wrong your family so we can put issue to rest." Vladimir stared into my eyes and said. He smiled in encouragement and I returned it.

"Thank you."

He nodded and turned to speak with Pop. They started talking about a possible business prospect. Vladimir was feigning interest in arms dealing. Which was a hoax because the only thing he wanted to do was bathe in our blood. He said all the right things. Pop asked me questions and had me explaining the business to Vladimir who praised my knowledge and told Pop he saw me as the next leader of the Whitlocks when Pop chose to step down.

I almost laughed.

Aro bristled when Vladimir said it and Pop looked proud. I felt sad because it would never be. I was already a leader in my own right, but Pop would not see me take the reins and run the family business because our enemies wanted to end us.

Another thing I saw in Vladimir's eyes was his treachery and the fact that he knew Char and Garrett's killer. He knew him personally and because of Vladimir himself, so did I.

From the smile on his disgusting face at every mention of Char and remembering him attacking Bella and how pompous the little bastard was about his powerful family until his own brother punished him. Alexei Chekov was Char's killer.

All business talk faded away for me and I began to eye him with intrigue.

Since I arrived and saw them standing there in the middle of the warehouse I had been analyzing every one of them. Alexei was the one whose body language said the most. From the way he watched Leah to the little knowing looks when Char's name was called, I knew I was looking at her killer. He tortured, raped and murdered my friend.

And I was to make him hurt for a very long while before he died. I would make him beg the way I was sure he made Char beg and then I would satisfy my anger and thirst for his blood by killing him.

Alexei was standing a bit away from his father and brother. They were in deep conversation with Aro and Pop. Alexei smiled at me and I gave him my best smile. Vladimir, who was still talking, glanced at Alexei for a second and noticed our exchange.

He grew angry and ran Alexei out of the open space. "Get out!" he shouted at his soon to be dead son. He turned back to me with fire in his eyes. And I matched it with an evil grin of my own.

Vladimir began warning me to stay away from his boy. I didn't answer. I let the old man speak. Sergei was smiling broadly as if he knew what I had planned. And he was sure he could stop me.

Pity. They don't know me.

Pop stepped in, assuring Vladimir, no harm would come to Alexei.

"Are we through?" I asked them all. "I've got a busy day ahead of me."

Pop looked at me as if he was about to say something and I quickly interjected, "I have to get your birthday preparations on the road. The persons who would usually handle this sort of thing are now six feet under."

Pop's nose flared. "Jasper, don't you…"

"You've got nothing to worry about, Pop," I said with malice. "I'm in mourning, remember?"

With Simon and Leah and my crew by my side, I left the warehouse.

On the way to the club, Leah's phone rang and she answered. I could hear Bella's voice in a panic and watched as Leah just smiled and shook her head. "He's here with me. He's alright. I think he just threw the phone away. Maybe it woke him up."

It was her on the phone this morning.

"Do you want to…" Leah said and I felt expectant then dejected when she relaxed and said, "Okay, I'm sure I'll hear from you in a few. Later." She hung up then said to me. "You hung up on her this morning?"

I looked out the window, pretending not to be a little excited by Bella's concern for me. "I didn't know it was her. No one answered when I picked up."

Leah shrugged. "Okay."

"Alexei killed Charlotte?" Simon interjected. I guess he picked up on it.

"What makes you so sure?"

"The way he was acting every time her name was mentioned." He bristled. "Alexei would get this sick, proud look on his fucking face and my finger was itching to pull the trigger after aiming my gun at his head."

"I see," I said with a smirk.

"Tell me we're going to get him, Boss," Simon said.

I smiled. "We're going to get him."


	29. Birthday

_**Bella, 2006**_

I put the alarm on snooze. It wasn't needed since I hardly slept anymore. I couldn't remember the last time I had a good eight hours of sleep. I kept lying here wishing any pain I felt away and cursing the day I fell in love.

Things would be perfect if none of this had happened.

If Jamie hadn't taken the Whitlock assignment, and eventually killed on said assignment, then I would have to come here. I wouldn't have to see Jasper again. I wouldn't have to know him beyond the last time I had seen and chosen to forget him because it was too painful to remember.

My secret. One I wondered if my own brother had known. One I wondered why Jasper never brought up in our time together since he was there. The secret I had chosen to push to the back of my mind until now. It had weaved its way to the forefront of my mind these last few days alone out here, forcing me to remember Jasper. Remember where I met my brown haired demon for the first time.

You see, Jasper and I know each other. And it was something we both apparently have been lying to everyone about. We had met before.

I took his case because I was determined to bring Jamie's killers to justice or make them pay by my own brand of justice for the pain they had brought to the Swan household. When I walked into his office that day, I was there to catch and punish the fucker who took my brother from me, but that wasn't where I had met Jasper Whitlock.

I smiled now when I remember him looking at me as if he had never seen me before. He played everyone so well. Including my amnesiac ass.

What had happened to me, causing Jasper to come to my rescue, were circumstances I had chosen to forget.

Carmen knew though. After all, she was there. The unfortunate of the situation was her obsession with me. After getting me out of there, Carmen became enamored with me and sought to keep me as her plaything because in her twisted mind, I would be happy with her. She was so strong in her conviction as my savior, she chose to omit Jasper from even her own memory when it came to remembering who rescued me from the Mendez family after Banner had abandoned me on the assignment, leaving me stuck in the pit of the devil himself as his toy.

I guess Banner thought it would be fun lesson for me seeing as I didn't give it up to him, I was sure to give it up to a notorious savage of a man dressed in a fine suit with the all the makings of an eloquent gentleman.

Rodrigo Mendez was no gentleman and he had made it his duty to prove that to me. I had to get out before I died. I couldn't die there at the hands of that psychopath.

When Carmen arrived with her small army and when she stumbled upon me in one of the bedrooms, tied to the bedpost in nothing but a black bra and panties, she had to 'save' me.

But it wasn't her when who stood out to me. It wasn't her eyes that caught my attention and called out to me from the haze I was under. It was Jasper's.

He was the one who stormed in and freed me. When Carmen saw the opportunity to shed blood, she took it and her and her army devoured the Mendez family, but it was Jasper who helped me take down Rodrigo Mendez.

It was Jasper who persuaded Carmen to let me go and it was him who found a way to get word to Charlie on where to locate me.

I remember everything now. I remember being in his arms as he delivered me to the point where my father would collect me in that desert. I remember the scent of him. I remember how safe I felt in his arms. And the look in his eyes as he turned and walked away, leaving me there to wait for my dad.

It bugged me that he didn't say anything to me after I showed up at his club with my memory completely void of him. Why didn't he? What about when we got close, why didn't he say anything then? What about when I fell in love with him and went as far as to admit it to him? He didn't think that was a good time to ask me why I never said anything about where we had really met.

Why didn't he say shit? It didn't matter now. He saved me then. And I chose to forget. Now it was my turn to save him.

I got up and took a shower. It was another day of planning. I needed to find a way to get to Alexei. I was going to teach him a lesson for what he had done to Char. For what he caused Peter to do. I never got to know them well, but they were Jasper's family and he loved them. That was all I needed to know.

After my shower, I got dressed and left my room with a knife strapped to my right leg and a gun in my hand with the safety off. I was ready if any motherfucker decided to try anything today. Just because things seemed peaceful didn't mean shit. There was always calm before a storm.

I walked into the gym. I went over to the treadmill. Before I got on, I dialed her number and she answered on the second ring. There was no need for introduction. Leah knew why I was calling her.

"He's still asleep. I'm actually standing over his drunken ass thinking about dumping cold water on him. He needs to stop this shit and get back on track."

I smiled at her forwardness. It was weird to me how Leah and I were becoming fast friends. I don't know how it happened but it did and I was glad. I found that I could talk to her without feeling like a horrible person. She understood my darkness and liked that my thoughts were just a little deranged sometimes. She got it when I confessed to her that I felt more like a killer instead of the protector I should be.

Leah understood. She told me it was okay. I liked how she knew what to say without a fucking speech. Just a few words and send you on your way. It was Leah's style and it was very effective.

"Don't. He's just dealing with things."

"Damn." She commented with a chuckle.

"What?" I asked.

"You sound like the perfect mob wife?"

I chuckled. "How so?"

"You're willing to believe your little devil is an angel."

I liked her logic. "Yeah." We were silent for a minute. "I'll call you later."

"Later."

We hung up.

I got on the treadmill just as Carlisle walked into the gym. We didn't speak. Just a nod to acknowledge each other's presence and that was it.

I turned the treadmill on and started walking then running. I was running. Mentally and physically. I was preparing my escape because this wasn't the way things should be. I wasn't a good person. I didn't deserve the things I was getting. Especially not the love of a man who was torn and overprotective, but willing to save me. Despite what was happening between us, Jasper wouldn't go back on his word. He _would_ save me.

And since I knew the sacrifice he was willing to make, I was going to go ahead and decide for him by not letting him do it.

If he wanted to help his family, that was fine. But he wouldn't be sacrificing himself for me. I loved him too much now to let him.

I ran faster as I made my decision. No one would know. I would just act. I owed no one an explanation.

By the time I stopped running, I was alone. I picked up my phone and my towel. I wiped my sweaty face in the towel then read the new text message I had.

 _Still waiting for light. Beehive safer than Poison Oak._

I laughed and shook my head at my dad's stubbornness before deleting the message. The phone was Leah's. She had given it to me so I could reach her. Dad was just showing off. He knew I was at the house and Jasper with me. He was showing me he had him under surveillance. It was funny how he could watch him but he refused to help me save him.

My dad was insane if he really thought I was going anywhere near Alice and not kill her for betraying Jamie to Banner. I would be leaving all of this behind, but I wasn't going to them.

I left the gym and made my way to the kitchen. Edward was in here making breakfast.

"Can I have some?"

He turned away from the stove with a frying pan filled with scrambled eggs and smiled. "Only if you're a good girl."

"I'm the best there is." I smiled back.

He gave me a hefty helping of eggs and waffles before we sat down to have breakfast together. We got to talking. Like Leah, her boyfriend was just as easy to speak to. Edward understood his family and his own place in it. He knew Jasper really well and I found myself coyly trying to see if he knew about Jasper saving me from the Mendez family those years ago.

Did he know we were lying all this time about not knowing each other until we had initially met?

Edward didn't know. From what he had said, he knew about Carmen and Jasper messing around in the past and sometimes Jasper would go down to Mexico to see her. He found them to be kindred in a way due to each being a horrific monster when they wanted to drive fear into their enemies. And Edward also pointed out Jasper being good at hiding things so who knew?

How could something this big happen and he shared it with no one. What about Leah or Carlisle? I damn sure knew he said nothing to his father or brother. Neither one of them showed any recollection of knowing of me until they met me and eventually found out about me being FBI. Someone had to have known. Did he really keep it to himself?

Leah must know. She was always with him. She was his chief bodyguard. She went everywhere he did. Yet, when she first met me, she too looked at me like it was the first time she was seeing me.

What about my own brother? Since Jamie did find out about Aro being my father, he must have found out about Jasper's heroics when it came to me. He was always so angry about not being able to save me from the Mendez family before they had done any damage.

He was too late.

I was beyond repair when I got home.

I still thought I was.

This was why I saw these turn of events with Jasper and I being a sign. Even if I didn't fully believe in that shit. It was a fucking sign. I wasn't meant to be happy.

I have fallen for a man I won't have time with. I would have to stand against far more than my father to justify us. That in itself wasn't a problem because I didn't really give a fuck what people thought. But still, it sucked.

There was also Emmett or even my own sister, Rosalie. What about my dad? Did Charlie know?

And as I thought the names of who might know about Jasper and me. I found the answer. He had told me. He had said it. He told me he didn't have to worry about Jasper, because he had me.

I left Edward after breakfast because this shit you thought about when you were alone. So I retreated to my bedroom where I took another shower and changed into jeans and a top with my combat boots while keeping my weapons near.

Peter had known. That was the person Jasper told and he said it to me the night he killed himself. The answer had been staring me in the face. Peter knew he could entrust Jasper's life to me. He knew I would protect his best friend the way Jasper had helped me in the past.

All this time, the answers had lain with Peter. Jasper trusted him like a brother. And Peter would not have given Jasper up. So he had known about me. And still, they let me in.

With Peter gone, the only person who could confirm my findings was Jasper. He was the one with all the answers. But how? We hadn't seen much less spoken to each other in weeks.

I called again. Leah said it was okay. I heard screaming in the background. She said it was Jasper and Michael. Their father's birthday was coming up and he wanted a party. It would be held at Jasper's club which Jasper was vehemently against it.

I didn't bother to call for the rest of the day. I spent that time thinking of how good it would be to actually have Nicky Whitlock's birthday party at the club. Since I knew New Moon Lounge like the back of my hand from scoping the place out when I was actually on assignment to take Jasper down. I could get in and out of every entry and exit in that place in my deepest sleep without anyone knowing.

This might be the perfect opportunity I need to grab Alexei. But I had to get in while being unrecognizable to anyone there.

I knew the perfect way.

Jasper would have to hold a masquerade ball in honor of his father's birthday. And since I already had the tools I needed to show Alexei the final time of his life before sending him on his way to hell, all I needed now was the right dress.

The rest of my day was spent finding the right place to take Alexei so we could converse. Edward came in handy there. He had the perfect place. It was one of the places Leah liked to use for interrogations and otherwise. I was so happy I almost kissed Edward and promised to kiss Leah when I saw her. He said he was looking forward to seeing it. I was too fucking giddy to hit him over the head for the comment. His girl was the best! She actually had a place or two where to take bastards and torture the crap out of them. Leah was just about my favorite person right now.

I forwent calling her the next morning when I woke up around four am. Instead I braved it and dialed his number.

"What?" he answered.

I didn't speak.

"What?" he said again.

A side of me just wanted to hear his voice. I wanted to talk. I don't know why I didn't.

"Fine. Go fuck yourself," he said and then there was clattering and the call was disconnected.

I sighed and went about my morning the way I had since he left. By later in the day, I talked to Leah, deciding I would never call him again, and she told me he had thrown his phone away because I woke him from his drunken sleep this morning. She asked if I wanted to talk to him, and I refused.

Instead I spoke to her about Nicky Whitlock and gave her my idea for a masquerade ball in honor of his birthday, asking her to pass it along to Jasper.

I knew Leah wanted to ask about how I knew, but she chose to go against her own inquisitiveness and let it be.

Speaking to Jasper now would have derailed me. What I was about to do wouldn't work if I was longing for him. The road I was about to take had no emotions on it. Just the execution. There was no room for feelings. And I was sure he would agree.

Just not with the outcome since that would require me going back to being the old me.

It would be for the best as that girl had it right all along. There was no happy ending for people like me.

 _ **Jasper, 2006**_

We drove to my club because I had three days to plan this party. It was going to be a hard fucking venture to do without the two people I used to depend on to help me with these types of shit.

I was sure of myself though. And seeing as I was a charming fucker, with lots of help at his disposal, I was sure I could get this done. Especially since I was planning it for more reasons than one.

The party would give me the perfect cover I needed to grab Alexei Chekov since him and his father and brother, Sergei, would be in attendance.

Leah and Simon followed me up to the office. I stopped at the bar, grabbing two bottles of water from Maloney, surprising him and Leah. I shrugged off their looks of shock and went about my business.

Enough was enough. If I was going to get this bastard, I couldn't do it while lying down drunk off my ass somewhere moping about the loss of my friends. I had to get up, stop being a fool and avenge them. I had to show these motherfuckers just who they were fucking with. Remind them of the beast they were dealing with. I was Jasper fucking Whitlock and they were never going to forget it.

There were things people didn't know about me. Secrets I held about being the monster I was. Truths that would shock even the woman I loved.

Peter had known one truth. The one about Bella. It had surprised me when we met in my office when she came in there under the 'guise of wanting a job, but was really there on assignment from the FBI, that she had forgotten me. I tried not to let my surprise show and Peter's warning looks kept me from slipping. It was unbelievable. Bella had truly wiped me from her memory.

Then again with what was done to her by the Rodrigo and his brother and whoever else, I didn't blame her for wanting to forget so I selfishly went along with it. And then as we progressed into more, it all became the wrong time to tell her. To bring up the past and remind her of the horrible things she endured just to get her to remember me. So every time we were together afterward, I had to look into her eyes and lie, hoping she would call me out on it. Telling me she had finally remembered.

I don't want that anymore. It was too hard on her. That girl. That agent when I saved her. When I carried her out in my arms, she was broken. Some remnants of her remain in Bella. I heard it in her voice when she told me she loved me. I knew Bella thought she didn't deserve love but she was wrong so it was time to face her. It was time for Bella to remember. I don't know what was going to happen so I couldn't waste the time I had.

My day progressed as I planned and though I was going to see Bella, I had told myself so repeatedly, I chickened out at the last minute.

There was something going on between Leah and Bella. Leah had puzzled me earlier after Simon had left the office and she walked in with the idea of a ball for Pop's birthday. She said it was Bella's suggestion for a masquerade ball.

I fucking loved that woman! How did she know? Never mind that, it was a good fucking idea so I went with it and started planning for the masquerade party I would hold in Pop's honor here in my club, three days from now.

Two days passed and I still haven't spoken to Bella, but she still called Leah to check up on me.

Plans for the masquerade were coming along nicely. Pop was happy with it. Michael loved it. And I was planning the slow and torturous way I was going to end Alexei. I hadn't had a spot of whiskey since making the connection of him being Char's killer. I didn't need the distraction.

Leah walked into my office. "Want anything to eat?"

I didn't look up from the document in my hand. "What time is it?"

"Lunch."

"I'm good."

She left the office.

I continued to go over the records. I still had two businesses to run. I took calls about the masquerade ball and directed the event planner, Heidi, on what to do. I didn't come up for air until around four pm. I was beat and felt hungry but there was one place I needed to go. It had been on my mind all day. I couldn't shake it.

I left the club on my own, jumping into my car and peeling out of my parking space. I knew Leah was trailing me even though she kept her distance; giving me the space I needed to do this.

When I pulled up to the house, I sat in my car for a while, deciding whether to head inside or not. I had every reason to. I had an apology to get out of the way. And I wanted to blurt out a truth that had been gnawing at me since Bella walked into my life.

I got out of the car and began to make my way to the door when it opened. I half expected it to be Bella. And my deluded mind had even conjured up the thought of her being happy to see me; running and jumping into my arms and telling me how much she missed me.

It didn't happen.

Edward was standing there.

I didn't have to ask.

"She's gone."


	30. Running

_**Bella, 2006**_

I got another text from Dad after talking to Leah.

 _Fox two has flown the coop. Beaver is heading home. Snake in pit._

What the hell? This couldn't be happening. I was seeing things. I better be.

The only thing was, I wasn't. And I knew it!

Aside from seeing that Rosie aka Fox two, had left for whatever reason she chose to, and Emmett was heading back here, Dad had grown suspicious of Alice. I fucking knew it! The traitor had finally done something to rouse his suspicion and he wanted to let me know. But why? I gave her to Carmen and his wise ass got her out before Carmen could show her the real deal. I knew what handing Alice over to a sick bitch like Carmen Cortez would have meant, but Charlie didn't allow the shit to play out. He ran his mouth to some superior and got her out of Carmen's grasp when Carmen, having a definite hatred for traitors, would have had a lot of fun with Alice as her plaything while she taught her the meaning of loyalty.

But Dad pulled Alice out because of misplaced guilt or some shit. Maybe he thought he was doing Jamie a favor, when it was Alice who had done him one by ratting out his moves to Banner and baiting my brother up to his killers.

In my book, she got my brother killed and she had to die for it. It was the only way.

I never stopped to give Alice Brandon much thought when I should have. I should have investigated her. No. I didn't. Jamie was happy and I went along with it like a fucking fool. All the while, Alice was playing us all. I liked my brother happy and he was so in love with her. I didn't want to ruin that. I didn't want to seem bitter because I loved Jamie and seeing him happy made me happy.

I did have reservations about her over their time together thought. Sometimes it just irked me and others, I didn't get why she was so invested. At times, Jamie's calm demeanor didn't seem like her speed and others she would act annoyed with him like everything he said and did got on her nerves. Rosie said it was just how couples were. If you got up and got along every single day, you would be bored out of your mind. I have never been in a relationship so I didn't question my sister's logic. I just went along with it. Why? Because it made Jamie happy.

Look where that has gotten us?

In the middle of shit. That was where.

When I looked back on the talk I had with my brother now, I realized I was stupid to go along with things. I should have stood up for him especially since he was blinded by his love. But I didn't. I let Jamie convince me that being in love could be a good thing.

And the talk had left me confused and vulnerable. So much so, I actually started to Alice. So when this assignment came up, she was the first person I turned to. She was so convincing. I leaned on her before I discovered my feelings for Jasper. She helped keep my sanity.

Yet something remained. A lingering suspicion in the back of my mind. I couldn't get rid of it and now I was glad I didn't.

The fortunate thing with being away was I had time to think. And when I was through with Alexei, Alice would be next. She and Banner were as good as dead. I would find out what I could about her, just to qualm my curiosity, and then I would kill her.

I smiled while texting my father back.

 _Snake has always been in pit. Will track Fox and Beaver._

He sent another crypt message telling me where to meet him. I shouldn't but I was going anyway. The last time we saw each other, I wanted to raise hell. This time I was disappointed in him for the Alice thing and for not helping me with Jasper.

Dad needed to hear what I had on my mind. It was best I got it out of the way before all hell broke loose since there would be no time to discuss anything then. Who knows who would make it out alive?

After dealing with Dad, I had to find Rosie. Emmett would find his way here so I wasn't worried about him. I had learned in my time here that Emmett could be a very resourceful guy. He wasn't just the huge geek behind the computer. The guy had common sense and a good sense of judgment. I knew there was no way he would head to Jasper's penthouse. That place was well covered and too hot. And since Nicky Whitlock had probably branded Emmett a deserter, it wouldn't be safe to make that mistake.

I got ready and went down to the garage. Carlisle and I ran into each other on my way downstairs.

"Where are you going?" he asked nonchalantly.

"Away."

He chuckled. It had a sense of relief to it. "About time you came to your senses."

"Go screw yourself, old man." I wouldn't burst his bubble by telling him I was coming back.

He laughed.

When I stepped off the last step I realized my problem would be getting past Edward without him snitching on me to Leah or Jasper about me leaving. I had to get out of here before he missed me.

Edward was growing on me and I thought his girlfriend was cool. As much as I had no problem doing it, I didn't want to have to hurt him.

Some of Jasper's goons were in the living room and I got by them with nonchalance by pretending to just walk around. Edward wasn't anywhere in sight so I breathed a sigh of relief. These guys didn't talk to me. They didn't need to apparently. They were just here to keep Edward, Carlisle, and I safe.

I got to the garage and was giddy with excitement when I flipped the light on, illuminating the room, because I had gotten past everyone and Edward was off somewhere and not here, bugging me.

The room was filled with cars. There was also two trucks and two bikes. I smiled as I walked over to the bikes, choosing the Ducati. At the back of the garage, there were shelves filled with equipment. I went back there, finding the keys to the bike, a helmet along with rider gloves and a jacket. The gloves and jacket I picked up were my size. I smiled. Jasper had thoroughly thought everything out. He knew I wouldn't sit and be pretty so he had things in place, just in case I got antsy.

It was a very thoughtful gesture. And it felt nice to have someone thinking about my well being, but I wasn't about to be swayed by the kindness behind this and let it distract me from what I had planned.

Once I was through, I would leave.

Pushing the nagging thoughts of Jasper away, I prepared to leave by throwing on the leather jacket and grabbing the keys. I took the helmet and gloves back over to the bike with me. As I was pulling on the gloves, I felt his presence behind me before he spoke.

"Where are you going?" Edward asked. He sounded genuinely curious yet there was a hint of humor in his tone. Edward had gotten pretty laid back with me. I don't know what he saw, but he was far more relaxed with me than his own father. Around Carlisle, he was rigid and slightly cold. It was a side of Edward that was borderline scary.

I looked at him and scoffed, making him chuckle like he had known me for years and was used to my bad attitude. "Out." I hated being questioned and I think Edward had picked up on it at some point and liked to use it against me.

"Where?" He inquired with a smile on his face. His expression was unreadable though. To the unassuming, it looked like he was ready to let me do what I wanted, but I knew he was here to try and stop me.

"None of your business."

Edward laughed in a challenging tone like he was daring me. "I can't let you go, Bella." He finally calmed down to say.

"I'd like to see how you're going to stop me." I countered. I was dead serious as I cocked an eyebrow at him, daring him to fuck with me right now.

He narrowed his eyes, his expression growing serious as he stepped down the steps, coming to stand in the garage. There was a fair amount of distance between us but he had enough room to make a move if he wanted to. And he looked like he wanted to. His shoulders were broad as he stood straight and his posture was rigid.

Fine. If he wanted to get hurt, so be it.

Edward sighed and relaxed his stance. He looked conflicted as he thought about what to do next. "I shouldn't."

"You can't stop me and your dad is more than willing to let me go."

"He saw you?" Edward said in shock. His smile fading as he grew angry.

"Yeah."

"Bella, listen…" Edward started, ignoring the part about his dad letting me go.

"Just let me go."

"You don't know Jasper," Edward was quick to say. "You don't know how bad it'll be once he gets here and sees that you're gone."

"Is he coming over?" I challenged. "Did he call and say he's coming over?"

"I don't want to get in the middle of it, but…"

I cut him off. "No. He didn't. I'm going."

He rolled his eyes at me and let out a frustrated groan. "Fine. It's your funeral."

"Yeah, it is."

I hopped on the bike and fired up the engine. The garage door opened for me and I looked back at Edward who just shrugged and waited for me to ride out. I put on the helmet, revved the bike and I was out of there. When I got down to the gate, it too opened for me and I smiled, thanking Edward in my mind.

I had already Dad's directions memorized so I took a left and continued up the road. The ride took a while and I got to think as I went along. I was armed and ready for Dad if he wanted to try anything because I wasn't leaving Jasper until I got the shit I said I would do, done. I wasn't going to abandon him. He didn't abandon me when I needed him the most and that was before I truly knew him.

I berated myself for forgetting him; for not remembering the guy who gave me a chance to have my life and family back. As I rode along, I promised myself I would tell Dad that it was Jasper who got me out because he needed to know. A side of me was weirdly hoping my dad would see the good in that. Yeah, it was fucked up. I wasn't really a hopeful type of person. But so much had happened, I started to view life through different eyes in a way.

Then there was Alice. I couldn't wait to talk to Dad about her. He would have to listen this time. He wouldn't have any choice. Her own actions, disappearing on him, were enough to show him that she was up to no good. I had a nagging feeling that something was very wrong with that picture when it came to Alice and I hated that it took me this long to pay close attention to it.

I got to the spot and brought the bike to a stop. Dad stepped out of the bushes by the roadside and waved me over. I rode the bike a little into the bushes, wanting to keep it hidden from any curious passers-by. I parked it and got off, getting my gun out. He was walking ahead and when he looked back and saw my gun, he smiled. "Really, Bella?" he asked with a deep chuckle. "You're gonna shoot your dad in the back?"

"I'm undecided."

He laughed as we walked further into the bushes. We came to a stop in front of his truck where he turned to me, relaxing against the vehicle as he analyzed me.

"What?" I said, irritated. "What do you want?"

"To see that you're okay." He sounded genuinely concerned.

"I am."

"Good."

"Let's get to it," I said, wanting our talk to get started so we could get to the meat of the issue and have things over and done with before Dad got any ideas; like when he got me out of the mission to Prague by drugging me. I was pissed as hell at him for that one. It took a lengthy talk from Jamie to talk me down from hurting my father for it.

So I would literally rip his head off if he tried any shit with me right now.

"You look conflicted."

"I'm actually relieved," I said.

"About?"

"Alice disappearing on you," I said with a smile. I shouldn't be gloating because it spelled trouble for us, but I was.

"Have your fun, Bells," he said. "This is serious."

"That's why you should have left her with Carmen."

I was expecting him to fight me on that point but he didn't. Instead he paused. He had a look on his face. It was surprise to see it as it was a rarity. You hardly saw genuine fear on Charlie's face. Something big has gone down.

"What happened?" _Please don't let it be Rosie. Please don't let it be Rosie._

He shook his head in disbelief.

"Dad!" He looked me in the eyes. He looked truly disturbed. "What happened?"

"It's Alice."

"What the fuck about her?" I was anxious and he wanted to talk about Alice. Fine.

"She's your sister."

 _ **Jasper, 2006**_

I wanted to shoot my cousin and his girlfriend knew it. Leah was watching me like a hawk. She looked ready to pounce on my ass if I made a move on Edward. Although I knew my cousin and he wouldn't go down willingly if I tried to beat the shit out of him for letting Bella go.

But I really wanted to.

"What the fuck do you mean she's gone?" I practically growled at him as I took measured steps forward.

There was a slight fear in his eyes but he stood his ground. "Look, you left me here to watch her, right?" I nodded and he went on. "Well, I have been. Jasper, when you abandoned her, Leah and I stepped in…"

I didn't want to talk about that. It also slightly hurt to know I was such a fucking prick to the woman I loved. I felt like an asshole. "What do you mean she's gone?"

"I mean, she left!" Edward yelled back in frustration.

I think I did snarl at him.

He took a step back, but kept his composure as he said, "She took a bike and left!"

That was it. I didn't need to hear anymore. I took off after him. He ran into the house and I tackled him in the foyer, grabbing his throat, ready to choke the life out of him. I heard a gun cocked and felt it at the back of my head before Leah said, "Jasper, I love you like family, but get the fuck off of Edward."

"He's dead," I said as I squeezed Edward's throat.

"Then your pain ends here." She concluded.

More guns were cocked and most of them were pointed at Leah as she added, "Before the guys take me out."

The room was silent. Carlisle ran forward, asking me what I was doing. He started rambling about Bella being uncomfortable and wanted to go and it was for the best. My eyes snapped to his, silently daring him to say anything else in the presence of my men. I didn't want them to know Bella was a Volturi, much less, her being Aro's daughter.

Carlisle shut his mouth.

Although who knows what the hell was circulating already?

I would deal with it later. Whatever came our way, I would protect Bella.

I got off of Edward and got up, stalking further into the house where I damn near had a heart attack when I saw Emmett sitting on the couch with three laptops opened up in front of him while he bit into a huge burger.

"Emmett, what the fuck?"

He gave me a goofy grin and got up to come and hug me. "I missed ya, man."

"Are you crazy?" I whispered when we parted. "You got out."

"Not in a good way," he said. "I'm here to help you and Bella. Charlie thought you two needed the help. He felt bad about leaving his kid hanging after he took me and Rose and Alice from Carmen. Alice though…" He sighed.

"What?" What about Alice? She used to be Bella's handler, but she was also Banner's snitch. What had happened?

"We narrowly escaped, man." He relayed.

"How do you mean?"

He called me over to the couch and I took a seat beside him. He directed me to look at the screens. One had information on Aro. The other had stuff about Alice. The last laptop screen looked like a map and there was a red light blinking.

"That's Bella," Edward said as he cleared his throat. I looked up at him, silently telling him to elaborate. He looked at me crossly while Leah looked like she wanted to rip me in two. Whatever. They knew how I was. He shouldn't have let Bella go anywhere.

Leah kept shooting daggers at me.

"What?" I asked her.

She cut her eyes at me just before Edward whispered something to her and her expression softened and I heard her ask if Bella was okay and Edward nodded.

"She's with her dad," Emmett said, filling me in.

"Why?"

"He contacted her via Leah's phone." Edward told me.

"How do you…"

"Like I said, you told me to watch her." Edward grimaced.

"What's wrong with you?" I was kind of concerned. He sounded hoarse.

Edward looked at me incredulously. "Are you kidding me? You just tried to kill me over someone you've been treating like shit while she's been here worried about you. And you're asking what's wrong with me?"

"Listen…"

"You listen!" Edward shouted then grabbed up his throat, groaning in pain before he went on. "The girl loves you but if you don't do something to save…whatever it is you two have, she's gonna leave you. I can fucking see it happening, Jasper."

"How do you know that?" I asked my cousin. I wanted to make some snide retort but mostly I wanted to know if Bella had said something to him.

He ignored my question. "She's planning to help you then revert back to her old ways. She thinks going back to being the hardcore Bella Swan I used to hear about around the office; being that non-feeling bitch agent who always got her man, is the best thing, Jasper. That's what you've caused with your foolishness."

"Peter dying is foolishness?" He better be careful with his next few words. He was treading on thin ice.

He groaned and rolled his eyes. "You don't get it, do you? Then again, you've never done this. You've never been in a relationship or been in love. To look in your woman's eyes and realize you'd burn the world for her."

"You think I don't know that?"

"You don't." Edward hissed.

I wanted to hurt him. I could see myself launching across the room and grabbing him. Leah looked like she was ready to spring into action if I did it. Emmett was waiting on me to make my move. And so was Edward. He wasn't backing down. It was surprising in a way. He was showing some ounce of care for Bella. It wasn't sexually because if I had picked up on that he would be dead before the day was out. No, he cared about her wellbeing. It was a sense of adoration and protectiveness. And it made me feel like I was staring her brother, James, in the face again. Edward looked like he was ready to go to bat for Bella. Even if it was against me. So I eased back.

"I'm sorry," I said softly.

"Me too." Edward said with a nod. "I shouldn't have gone off on you."

"I could've killed you for that."

"You're not that impulsive." He chuckled.

"But I am that fucking crazy enough about her to throw rational thought out the fucking window, E. So don't bet on my self-control over my own impulsiveness."

"Noted," he said and it was the end of our argument.

I just had to say one more thing. "I'm in love with her and I'm not giving up."

"Good." Leah grumbled with a deadly look at me. I knew she was pissed and wanted me to make me pay for hurting Edward. But now wasn't the time. There were more important things at hand like…

I turned back to Emmett. "Now tell me about Alice."

 _ **Bella, 2006**_

"Dad, what are you talking about?" I was in the fucking Twilight Zone. This couldn't be true.

"She's Aro's kid," Dad said.

"How? What? Why? How?" My damn voice was shaking. That was how shocked I was. Alice was Aro's daughter? Alice was my sister? "Hold on, is Renee her m…"

"No!" Dad said quickly, squashing that thought. "It's another woman. Mary Brandon. She died after giving birth to Alice."

"Then who raised her? Where had she been all this time? Before the FBI, where was she?" I was firing the questions at him as soon as they formed in my own head. What the fuck was going on? What was happening? And how deep did this rabbit hole go?

Please don't let me and Jasper be brother and sister. I swear I would shoot myself if I found out I was screwing my brother.

"Dad, is Jasper…" Charlie looked at me like I had lost it. I was losing it. He didn't realize the bombshell he just dropped on me at the way wrong time. I shouldn't have come out here. This was going to fuck me up. Alice was my sister and she killed Jamie. She might not have pulled the trigger but she was in a position to probably know what would happen to him and did nothing. In my mind, that meant she killed him.

I couldn't believe the bitch. She stood with us. She mourned him. You mean, it was all an act?

Dad chuckled. "No. You and Whitlock aren't related."

I breathed a sigh of relief for that.

Dad and I continued talking. I learned about Alice infiltrating us because of, well, Dad and I suspect Aro. Over the years, she has been privy to sensitive information which she had to be feeding him. Banner must be in on it too.

My God, what sweet hell was this? Alice was the worst type of rat. She screwed everyone involved to get what she wanted. And I had to hand it to her. "She's truly his daughter," I said to Dad with a dark chuckle. My back was to him while I wondered how I was going to get my hands on Alice. I wanted to do it now more than ever. "A lot more than me."

He smiled. "Don't underestimate yourself, Bells. You're something else and I would like to think me, Rosie, and Jamie had something to do with that."

"You do," I turned to him and said. "But it doesn't erase the fact that you lied to me."

He stepped closer, placing a hand on my shoulder and I turned to him and pulled away, taking a few steps back. Dad looked disappointed before he covered it with indifference. "Bella, I am sorry for lying to you but I felt like I should've have protected you from the truth. I didn't want you to know about Aro and I don't want you to think I kept you to use you against him. My bosses, the ones who knew about Renee, when they found out about you…"

He looked unsure.

"Go on," I said, encouraging him. "I want to know. No more lies."

He nodded. "They thought it would be a good idea. To raise the enemy's kid and use you against Aro."

I nodded. "It sounds perfect."

"I couldn't do it," Dad said. "You were the sweetest little thing. The moment I held you, I fell in love. That was it. You were my daughter and I vowed to do anything for you."

Tears pooled in my eyes and I fiercely wiped them away.

"I love you, Bells, and I'm sorry I didn't stop you when you took the training and when you wanted to do what me, and your brother and sister do for a living. I should've."

"Maybe," I said softly.

"Yeah, maybe. But it was my selfishness that kept me from denying you. From running you away or forcing you to go live a normal life. You wanted to be a nurse, remember?" He chuckled.

I smiled. "I did. It's too late now."

Dad nodded and hung his head sadly. "Nevertheless, I'm proud of my kids. Of you and Rosie, and I'll miss Jamie until the day I die, but I've got to live for you girls. He would want me to. I know you hate me for not lifting a hand to help Jasper. I know you feel things for him. Pretty much you two are where Renee and I once were. And yes, I still love your mother."

"Your mistake," I scoffed.

"I know," he said in defeat. "But the heart wants what it wants."

"Hers probably still want Aro and Jasper's mom's lifestyle. You know she was obsessed with being a mobster's wife, right?" I didn't mean to rub it in and I could see the hurt in his eyes as I said it, but it needed to be put out there. Renee would never want him the way he wanted her.

"Yes," he said softly. "I know. Sometimes, I think I was happy when she walked out. It was easier to breathe. Back then it became about keeping you and your siblings happy and it was enough for me."

"Then stop thinking about her." I ordered him.

"Yes, ma'am." He chuckled. "You always were a pushy little thing."

I smiled. "Don't you forget it."

We had a moment of silence before I told him what I came here to say. "Dad…"

"Yes, Bella?"

"I'm going back."

He gave me a sad smile. "I know."

"I have to finish what they started."

"Jamie would be pro…"

I stopped him. "Jamie and Jasper. I have to finish what they started."

"Jasper?"

"Helping Jamie isn't the only time he tried to help us."

"What do you mean?"

I smiled as I thought back to Jasper in Mexico. To being in his arms as he carried me to drop off point where Dad would collect me. And as I thought about it, I told my father about Jasper being the one to save me from the Mendez family.

"So you see, I have to go back," I told him while he stared at me in shock. "I have to get Alice for what she did to Jamie. I have to save Jasper because he saved me." I didn't add the part about me loving him. That was for me. And I didn't tell Dad I would be leaving if I got through this war in one piece.

We both left the meeting spot shortly after. Each with a lot to think about. My priority was Alexei but after him there would be Alice, Banner and my birth father, Aro Volturi.


	31. Hell

_**Alexei, 2006**_

My head spun. I wanted to wipe the drowsiness from my eyes but couldn't. I wanted to shake my head but when I did, it made everything spin more. What did this bitch do to me? The last thing I remembered…I was dancing with girls and then _she_ walked in; the devil woman in the white dress.

She was so sexy.

I knew I would have her begging by the end of the night.

I didn't.

Instead I was here, wherever this was, and the bitch had me trapped.

Whatever she thought she was going to do to me and get away with it, she had another thing coming. My family would crush her. I would crush the skinny bitch. If it was hell she wanted, by kidnapping me, it was hell she would get.

"Let me go, bitch!" I shouted to her from across the room. Her back was to me. And the room she had me in was bright enough for me to be able to identify this bitch to my brother, Sergei, when I saw him.

The only thing was, I wouldn't let him kill her.

Well even if I did because Sergei didn't exactly listen to me as he thought he was boss because he only had to answer to Father, before he did, I would persuade him to let me have some fun with this whore before he killed her.

I started to grin when I thought about all the fun I would have making this bitch scream and beg before she died.

"You're going to die, bitch!" I said, threatening her. "Do you know who you have? Do you know who I am?" She stopped whatever it was she was doing at the table in front of her and started to laugh at me. "Don't laugh, bitch! You think I'm joking? You're going to die!"

She pulled off the blonde hair, making me realize it was a wig, before she sauntered over to me just as a man walked into the room.

He was an older man, tall, with blonde hair slicked back. He stood by the door with one foot crossed over the other and his head leaned back against the wall as if he was bored and waiting for something to happen.

Fine! He wouldn't help me, he would die too!

I wasn't paying any attention to her and I should have. Because then I would have seen that the bitch was standing right in front of me.

I was shocked to see who it was. I had hardly forgotten her. She caused me so much trouble with my father.

It was that bitch! Nicky Whitlock's son, Jasper's, bitch! I didn't know her name. But I remembered everything about her. I remember when Aro Volturi allowed me to go to Jasper's office and I saw her there. She looked so good as she bent over the desk searching for something. From where I stood by the door, just seeing her tight ass in her little shorts made me see I had to have her.

I thought she would be easy like the other bitches I have been with, but she wasn't. Where they had given up and cowered in fear, letting me have what I want, this whore had fought me off.

And she was strong too!

At first I thought I would win eventually, but I didn't get the chance. Jasper came and everything got out of control. He took things so far for his slut! He caused Sergei to scold me like I was a child. He made Father scream at me and threaten to cut me off if I fucked up his deal with Aro.

I swore I would get back at Jasper and his whore for what they did.

Sergei later told me I was wrong for touching Jasper's woman and crossing Father. But he promised we would make Jasper pay for crossing the family.

Well, I did get back at jasper by starting with his little redhead bitch.

I smiled when I remembered her sweetness and the way she begged.

Sergei knew. He was there. Though he liked to pretend he was so self righteous. He got off on making the bitches hurt before we had our way with them like Jasper's little friend, Charlotte. But Sergei liked to act like I was the uncontrollable one when it came to females. I wasn't the only one. He was just as bad as me.

When Jasper's pretty redhead friend that I killed, Charlotte, tried to fight, or plead with me, Sergei was the one who insisted on shutting her up. He was the one who took what he wanted. He had more fun with her than I did!

And once the game was over and we had our fill, I knew she had to die. Not just because it would set off Jasper as Aro had told us it would, but also because it was fun.

Besides, Jasper would think it was Father who ordered a hit on his redhead friend and want revenge. He would go after Father just like Aro promised and I would get rid of Father and Sergei, thanks to Jasper before Aro killed him.

It was long overdue anyways. The Chekov gang needed new leadership and that would be me as soon as I got out of here and away from Jasper's slut.

Aro had promised me his support in exchange for the control we…well, I would grant him over the Whitlock gang. The Whitlocks controlled a lot in America. Their hands have been into everything for a long while now and Jasper was the golden boy. He was the heir apparent. Aro hated him because Jasper wasn't as gullible as his father, Nicky Whitlock and Aro could never control him as he did with Nicky.

Why was I thinking about this now? These thoughts would be better left for later. Now, I had to make Jasper's whore let me go. She would die for this. No bitch would overpower Alexei Chekov and live to tell the tale.

"I am going to die," she said to me.

I smiled. It was good she understood. "Look, we can work something out." I pleaded with her falsely. She had to be after money. But Jasper was as rich as us, if not more; then again, maybe he wasn't giving her as much as she wanted so she came up with this foolish plan. "If it is money you want, that's why you kidnap me, then it is yours. Just name your price."

She looked at me, her eyes lighting up at the mention of money with a broad smile on her face. "Money?" she said.

Yes! I was getting somewhere with the greedy whore.

She parted her legs. The high slit of her dress gave me a peek at her black panties beneath it as she moved to sit on my lap, pulling her hot little center right up to where I wanted it the most.

If it was cock she wanted, then I would give it to her and then kill her.

She moved her mouth to my ear, her hot breath fanning my cheek and I wished I could touch her if and that I wasn't tightly strapped to this chair, as she whispered to me. "I do have a price in mind, but it's gonna take a lot out of you. I know I will enjoy it. The thing is…will you?"

I pulled my head back to ask what she meant when I felt the sharp hot pain in my leg. I howled in pain and she got up. I could hardly hear her through the piercing pain, but I knew I was cursing her. Then I felt a hard slap across my face. It split my bottom lip and I could taste blood. I spat it at her.

"You will die!" I threatened her.

She smiled at me again. "I know. I told you that before. But not before you."

What did I do to deserve this? How did I get here?

 _ **Jasper, 2006**_

One of my guys walked in to tell me Bella was heading back. They spotted her bike coming down the road. I nodded and dismissed him so I could go back to staring at Emmett in disbelief.

It couldn't be true, but judging by the look of surprise on Leah, Carlisle, and Edward's face as well as the seriousness on Emmett's, I knew he wasn't fucking around.

Alice Brandon. The chick James Swan was in love and was going to marry. The chick who was Bella's handler. The chick Edward said when he looked into her background, he found nothing out of the ordinary.

That chick was as much a Volturi as Bella? In fact, she was Bella's sister? Alice was from a woman named Mary Brandon who died after giving birth to her. How the fuck did no one know this? How did Aro hide her?

I knew Bella's story. She was raised by Charlie but what did Aro do for Alice since he obviously had a hand in her life since the start.

He must have carted her off somewhere to grow up and become his snitch. I think I was the one who pointed that part out to Emmett because he said he was still in shock after finding out about Alice being a Volturi and then having her disappear on him, Rose and Charlie.

That was the other thing. How did she get away and how much does Aro already know?

One thing was for sure, I was fucked.

I had been fucked from the start. Aro had planned well. We would be slaughtered. This shit was not going to go down the way I planned at all. Aro had been playing the game from the inside from the very start and I just gotten in it for the sake of saving what was left of my family a little too late.

I had different questions now. Like did he know my plan? Did he know everything? I couldn't walk up to him and ask him. I just knew, now more than ever, he had to die. And soon.

Emmett said Rose was out tracking Alice. And that shit worried him since he and Charlie hadn't heard from her since she left. He said Charlie sent him back to me and Bella because he thought Emmett would be of use to Bella.

What kind of hell was I in? If Aro knew what I was up to, then I would be walking into his trap no matter what move I made next. I had nothing under control. Aro did.

Bella walked in. I kind of smiled when I heard her voice.

"What's wrong with you?" she asked the guys walking in behind her. "Why the hell are you following me?"

She stepped into the living room and stopped with a hissing sound escaping her lips as she looked at Edward. He looked at her with rage and she shrugged, "Sorry."

"Sorry?" he said as he got up and got in her face, towering over her. "I told you what would happen and you went anyways, your boyfriend almost fucking kills me! And you say sorry?" He coughed and cleared his sore throat.

Bella shrugged again with little to no sympathy on her face. Actually, she had a smirk on it as she stared up at Edward like an innocent little thing. "Want me to kiss your boo-boo and make it all better?" My blood almost started to boil when I watched Bella pucker her lips and moved to kiss Edward's neck before he pushed her away making her laugh with a devilish grin set on her face that didn't move until she looked at Leah.

This time when she apologized, she actually sounded like she meant it. "I really am sorry, Leah."

What was happening? When since they were friends? I knew Bella was calling Leah to check up on me and I knew they talked to one another, but when did a friendship develop?

"Feeling left out because you were being stupid?" Emmett whispered to me.

I looked at him. I wanted to have a witty comeback or just punch him in the face, but I did nothing because he was right. I was feeling a little jealous of how easygoing things seemed between Edward, Bella and Leah.

So I stayed silent and swallowed whatever I was tell Emmett and turned my attention back to Bella and Leah.

"Just don't…" Leah sighed. "Jasper's…just fucking listen when we tell you not to do something, okay?" She sounded like she was worried about Edward…and Bella?

I couldn't keep it. I had to ask. "You're worried about her?" I said to Leah while nodding toward Bella.

Leah turned her gaze to me. Her eyes saying she was so pissed at me for hurting Edward. "What's wrong with that?"

"Nothing."

I could feel Bella's eyes on me when I wasn't looking, but as soon as I did, she was steadfast in ignoring me. She even went and sat in front of Emmett on the edge of the coffee table while she questioned him about what happened and Alice and how she got away from them. All the while, she ignored me. Emmett was looking between us. His eyes telling me I was fucked as he answered as much of Bella's questions as he could.

One thing bothered her though. "Then how the hell did Alice get away?" she asked in frustration.

Emmett started stammering. He had a thing about being questioned. He always gets flustered when it happened. He could get the words out, at least to tell the right lie, but he would just get flustered when it sounded like the person was being rough with him.

Maybe I was sick of her ignoring me, even if she hadn't been here long, or I didn't like the way she was talking to Emmett, or fuck it! I wanted an excuse to make her see me so I snapped at her.

"Stopping asking him the questions like that!"

She looked at me with the anger radiating off of her, but I didn't back down. "He fucking heard you! You don't have to act like it was his fault your…whatever the fuck that bitch is to you, got away. It wasn't too long ago you were blaming your father for getting her out of Carmen's grasp! So why are you acting like it's Emmett's fault?"

The room went still.

Bella sighed then turned and gave me her full attention. "You're right, Jasper," she said calmly before turning back to Emmett. "I'm sorry for coming down so hard on you, Emmett."

With that, she got up and walked out of the room, but this wasn't over. I followed her upstairs and into her bedroom, slamming the door shut behind us and locking it. Bella didn't even acknowledge the move. Instead, she took off the rider gloves then her jacket before moving to disarm herself.

"Are you gonna talk to me?" I asked her.

"What for?" she said with her back to me. I wasn't having it.

I went over to her. I spun her around, forcing her to face me. I wanted to look into her eyes. I pulled her to me roughly, and watched a storm pass in those deep, dark eyes of hers as she waited for me to make a move.

I should be speaking. I should be apologizing, for blaming her and abandoning her, but I kissed her instead.

Everything in me screamed that this was the wrong thing to do, but when Bella responded by moving her lips along with my own before taking my tongue into her mouth and sucking on it, I could do nothing to stop my body's need for her.

I walked us back until her feet hit the bed and I pushed her down on top of it. My hands made quick work of taking off her clothes and mine. I was hungry for her and I didn't realize just how much until I saw her. And when I pushed into her, my body felt like a fire had been lit. A fire only Bella could extinguish. When she lifted her hips to meet mine, when she moved them, grinding her little body into mine, I bit her shoulder, making her cry out as I drove into her, fucking her.

"Uh, Bella…"

"Uh, Jasper…" She moaned as she gripped my shoulders and pushed up her neck, crying out in pleasure while I took us to that familiar peak.

And when my body stiffened and my cock pulsated, my orgasm flowing through me as I emptied myself into her, I whispered my love for her.

"I love you too!" She moaned and cried as she came.

We rode out our orgasms before settling down to catch our breath. I pulled out and moved to her side, but kept her close with a leg thrown over hers. I couldn't stop looking at her while her eyes were closed as she caught her breath.

"I love you," I whispered again.

I watched her swallow before she answered with her still closed eyes. "I love you too."

There was something she wasn't saying so when she moved to get up, I let her but I followed her.

"Why aren't you talking to me?" I asked as I followed her into the bathroom. Bella turned the shower on and got in. I got in with her.

"What's there to say?" She turned to me and said, "You came to see me. We fucked and now you're going to leave."

Was she sad about it?

"Bella, you know what's happening and…"

She chuckled. "I'm not sad about you leaving." I didn't like how blunt she was being. "There's lots to do. And we hardly have any time to do them. Emmett's here so that can help us some. Rosie is out there and I've got to find her. Alice is our father's snitch and I have to find her and do what I should've done long ago before she took Jamie away from me."

She sounded…cold. This wasn't the woman who loved me. This was the agent. Agent Bella Swan of the FBI. "Bella…listen…about what happened after Peter…killed himself, I lost it and I shouldn't have taken it out on you. I'm sorry, baby." I moved to touch her and she backed away. Her angry eyes piercing mine.

"You hurt me," she deadpanned.

"I know, baby, and I'm sorry."

"It taught me something."

"What?"

"That this…what we are becoming…it stops here. It's over."

She left my body in the shower and took my heart with her as she walked out.

 _ **Bella, 2006**_

My breathing was shallow. My legs were heavy but I got dressed somehow and left the bedroom. My body felt like lead as I went down the stairs. I turned the corner and saw Emmett, Edward and Leah along with Carlisle.

I couldn't face them. I turned away and walked without a destination in mind. My feet were so heavy and my heart was bleeding. I wanted to turn back and run up the stairs and tell him to forget what I just said. I wanted to tell him I was sorry for making him have that heartbreaking look on his face when I said it and that when I saw it, my breath stopped.

But I couldn't. I had to do this. This was the break we needed. He walked away because he wanted to handle his friends' death on his own and I have to walk away because we were kidding ourselves. There was no future for us despite how much I really wanted it.

My throat closed up. I stopped walking and leaned against the wall. I placed a hand over my heart, willing it to stop breaking. My body quivered as I remembered the feel of him against me and inside of me.

My throat. My heart.

I slid to the floor, the tears pouring out of me, my body convulsing with my sobs. I cried my heart out. I screamed and I cried.

I felt arms around me before I was pulled into an unfamiliar warmth. The voice hushed me, telling me I would be okay, before he chuckled and said, "You really love my nephew, don't you?"

I didn't answer Carlisle. I nodded and held him as close as I could while I cried.

No one bothered us. We said nothing else to each other. I just sat there crying and let Carlisle hold me.

I don't remember leaving where I was while I sobbed on Carlisle's shoulder, but I woke up in my room in the middle of the night. I got up and went downstairs, finding Carlisle and Edward down there.

Edward was the first to speak up. "Emmett's in the office," he said and I nodded. My throat felt raw and dry from the amount crying I had done earlier. Carlisle got up and disappeared into the kitchen before coming back with a bottle of water for me. I took it and nodded my thanks.

"Drink it slowly," he said gruffly. His son was looking between us with surprise etched on his face. "And when you're ready, let me know how I can help."

I nodded and he walked away.

"What did you do to my father?" Edward asked and I looked at him with a small smile and a shrug.

Edward sat me down and told me Leah and Jasper had left. He said Jasper and Carlisle had followed me out to the back of the house earlier while I was going through my…episode. I slapped his arm for calling it that and he laughed.

"Jasper looked broken, Bella."

I pleaded with him with my eyes not to tell me and he nodded in understanding. He went on, "Dad told him to leave. Dad actually said he would take care of you and you would be okay. He told Jasper not to give up on you two. You would find your way back to each other despite everything." I looked at Edward in shock. And he nodded.

"Yeah, I know. I think the world is coming to an end too because my dad actually gave someone heartfelt advice. I was really beginning to doubt he still had any warmth left in his heart. But apparently he does and he understands you and Jasper and he now sees you two together."

"He wants us to win," I said with a hoarse voice. "Carlisle would rather accept me than lose Jasper and you."

Edward nodded and smiled. "I'm beginning to believe that too."

The days and hours passed quickly and soon Nicky Whitlock's birthday masquerade was here and I was ready for Alexei Whitlock. Thanks to Leah, I had the perfect disguise. The long white dress with the high slit that stopped at my thigh would definitely get Alexei's attention and my short blonde wig to go along with my gold inspired mask would do the trick.

I aimed to get Alexei away from Sergei and the Chekov's guard dogs so I could have my way with him. And what I wanted to do would require somewhere where no one would hear him scream.

Thanks to Edward and Leah, I had the perfect place. I just had to get my hands on the bastard and get him there.

Leah and I still talked, and even though I didn't ask anymore, she still informed me of Jasper's wellbeing. In Leah's eyes, Jasper was being hopeful…for us. I smiled at the thought when Leah told me that, and I knew I would always love him.


	32. Hell 2

_**Jasper, 2006**_

I stood by the large window in my office that oversaw the club's dance floor with a smile on my face.

Yes, everything was ready.

I was ready.

My mind might be in turmoil over Aro and what the fucker might have planned, but it wasn't enough to stop me from going through with my own plans. Since he knew, who gave a shit? I was going to do what I promised myself I would do.

Get rid of him.

I couldn't live in a world and be at peace while knowing he was still breathing. Aro had spent a majority of his time plotting against my father. He bit the hand that fed his drugged up ass by betraying us, so killing him was the best thing I could do. He needed to be reminded that you don't cross a Whitlock and live to talk about it.

Bella was also on my mind. I wanted to work things out with her. Things were up in the air at the moment. But it would be resolved soon. She claimed we were over and I suppose it would be for the best seeing as I was about to be a part of a bloodbath, but I was too selfish of a bastard to give her up. She was mine and I refused to let her ass walk away. I loved her too much now. I didn't care if I had to grovel like a dog at her feet. Bella Swan would always be mine.

Yeah, she did deserve a guy who was better than me.

But so help me God, I would kill any fucker who thought they could be in her life. In my eyes, no one would be good enough for Bella. No one but me anyways. And if I were to die, I would simply live by her side, haunting her ass.

I spotted Leah walking around with the guys, directing them, and I smiled at the will and stubbornness of my bodyguard. She was still pissed at me for attacking Edward but she knew how I was. And she also would never abandon me. I loved the chick like a sister. An annoying, know-it-all, kick ass one, but a sister nonetheless.

She would forgive me eventually for choking her boyfriend since she knew I wasn't about to take any of it back and it was cousin, Edward's, fault. They knew I was a temperamental fuck. So when I tell him not to let Bella out of his sight, fucking listen to me and don't let her overpower him!

No! The fucker let my girl charm his ass and leave! Of course I was pissed! He was lucky I didn't shoot his ass.

I knew Bella was a charming little hellion. And damn pretty too. With those pouty lips and expressive eyes, she could get any man or chick, if they were interested, to do what she wanted. This was why Edward was lucky he wasn't interested in Bella romantically, because if he was, my choking him would have been the least of his worries.

Carlisle was another enigma. When did his opinion of Bella change? Since when he wasn't against Bella and me being together? I thought he was going to continue on his rant of hatred for her because she was a distraction as well as the enemy because Aro was her biological father.

I mean we all knew Uncle Carlisle wasn't exactly the loving and understanding type when it came to the fairer sex especially after Edward's mother burned him by breaking his heart and walking out on him and Edward when my cousin was just a kid, it did something to my uncle turning a kind man into a fucking scrooge who hated all things happy.

So why was he suddenly on Bella's side?

I turned away from the window and went back to my seat, throwing myself down in it while I thought about it.

I shouldn't be asking myself what changed with my uncle because he had sort of explained it.

When Bella left me in the bathroom and drifted downstairs, I ran out of there and threw on my pants and shirt then followed her only to see Uncle Carlisle beating me to it. At first, the hair on the back of my neck stood up as I watched him trailing her while she wandered to the back of the house. I wasn't sure what he was up to but if he did anything out of the ordinary, it would be his head. He knew how volatile I could be. Bella was someone I deeply cared for and I wouldn't stand for any bullshit he was about to try.

I didn't need to be alarmed. When Bella stopped and I caught a glimpse at my uncle's face, I saw something I couldn't believe I was seeing. Compassion.

When she broke down, collapsing to her knees, he was the one to pull her up into his arms, letting her cry her heart out on his shoulder. And even as he held her, it wasn't with spite or some sort of twisted victory because she was feeling like shit, it was with care. I watched my uncle rock Bella while he coaxed her like how a parent would.

Edward, Leah and I were all too shocked to speak or move. We just stood there while Bella cried until she passed out. Then my uncle lifted her up in his arms and took her upstairs where I followed him. After he placed her in bed, even going as far as to pull the duvet over her, before he turned to me, and promptly took me by the elbow, pulling me out of the room.

"You need to leave," he said pointedly. He went on to further shock me by telling me he wasn't satisfied with Bella's predicament.

"I thought you would be."

He chuckled. "Yeah, I thought I would be too." At least he was telling me the truth about that.

"I'm not leaving her." I was prepared to stay.

"She's the way she is because of you," he countered.

"That's why I'm here now."

"After ignoring her for wanting to protect you?" He countered again. There was my asshole Uncle I knew and loved. He was back and standing her thinking he could contradict everything I said.

"I…"

He wasn't through. "No one knew what Peter was going to do. Least of all, Bella. But I stood by and watched while you acted like she put the gun in his hand and then walked out on someone you've been so adamant about loving. You leave her here to rot until you feel like you can stop pouting and you're ready to play with her again."

He was pissing me off. "I know I'm pissing you off. But ask yourself this, is what I'm saying or the fact that I'm right?"

"Listen…"

He held his hand up, stopping me. "She's going to leave you. I have a feeling she will. Only it won't be because of the predicament you're in, it'll be because she thinks she's no good. Unlovable. I might hate her parents, but I have been here a while with her and the kid's got a lot of self loathing going on inside of that heart of hers. When you say you love, Jasper, you have to be there for her through thick and thin, boy. And don't run away when you want to throw a tantrum. Let her see it. Deal with the shit together. That's love. It's knowing that when you wake up tomorrow she'll still be by your side. So you have got to go. Give her space. Let her do what she needs to in order to help you and then, and pray your ass lives through this shit that's about to hit, but don't let her go. Fight for her, boy."

I was pissed at him for telling me this but he wasn't wrong. I was toxic to her right now. I would go but before I left I wanted to know something. "Why did you let her go earlier? She had to pass you before she got to Edward?"

"I don't appreciate what you did to my son."

I rolled my eyes and scoffed. I only wanted the answer to my question.

Uncle Carlisle smirked knowingly. "Because I knew she would come back to you."

For that reason, I felt it was okay to leave. Leah found Carlisle's sudden change unexplainable and thought he was dying from an incurable illness.

I sighed, leaving those thoughts behind. So much was about to happen. I needed my head in the game at hand.

The club was set up and finally ready for the masquerade. There were golden streamers, balloons attached to the ceiling and all the works. The expensive liquor was out and would be pouring all night. There were different workers here tonight as I had ensured that my usual staff wouldn't be around. Maloney didn't like it but he said nothing when I sent him on extensive leave along with a couple of good waitresses I have had over the years. I set up something for them in each of their accounts. It should tide them over for a while. They were good people.

The club would never be the same after tonight anyways.

Leah approached me with a clipboard in hand. I smiled at her effort of intimidating the assholes from Aro's camp who were lurking around us, watching our every move like the fucking cockroaches they were. She made sure not to wear her jacket and had her guns on display. I followed suit while Simon and the guys who were loyal to the Whitlocks only and were on my side made sure they were never too far from me. I wanted to show Aro and his merry band of fools I wasn't backing down and I was not to be fucked with.

I had a mark on every one of them and after tonight, nothing would be the same for them.

I had nothing to fear but fucking fear itself and Jasper Whitlock wasn't afraid of shit outside of Bella Swan walking out of his life.

Since we had gotten back from Bella's, we had been on high alert. I trusted no one and had most of my people shadowing whoever was watching over Pop and Michael. I thought a lot of Pop's guys were in Aro's camp since they were sons of old bosses. And sometimes they didn't like how Pop and I did our business. So the fuckers, in my opinion, were definitely supporting that slime, Aro.

Then there would be the Chekovs and honored guests. Oh shit. There was so much to do and so little time. It was going to be quite the party.

"Everything is set," Leah said as one of Aro's slime walked by, eyeing us.

"Good." That's right, idiot. Nothing for you to report.

"Food, drinks and all guests will be in attendance, boss."

"Got it."

Leah looked me in the eye. "What? No date?"

I wanted to give her a hard look for baiting me, but I refrained. "Not needed," I said smoothly. She was such a bitch sometimes. And as another asshole went by, eavesdropping of course while Leah smiled at her little joke, I slammed her with... "I'm sure enough bitches will be here."

"And so much more," Leah said, reminding me that Bella would be here. My stomach did a flip. Damn, I wonder what she would be wearing. Would I recognize her? It was a masquerade. Her idea. How hot would she be and how would I be able to keep my hands off of her?

I shouldn't be thinking with my dick, but damn, I knew how hot she could be. I knew everything was riding on her getting to Alexei and making him disappear from the party if I wanted to do this the smooth way, but if it couldn't happen, I was also ready for a good, old fashion shootout where I would just gun down the bastard. But I really wanted to do it Bella's way since it would give me the time I needed to fucking make the bastard hurt like how he made Charlotte hurt.

Beck, one of my trusted, would be handling the transport. Bella had given no word on how she would get Alexei to go with her, and it was driving me nuts. Would she have to charm the asshole and let him feel her up? I wanted cut his damn fingers off and we haven't even started yet.

I closed my eyes and took a few deep breaths.

Uncle Carlisle was right when he said Bella affected me. But it was in a good way. She was becoming the air I breathe and a reason to live.

And I would be damned if I let anyone take advantage of her and get away with it.

That reminded me, I was going after Alice and Banner after I got rid of Alexei for Char and Peter. Those two bastards had hurt Bella so they would pay with their lives. Banner, for setting her up in Mexico and thinking his dirty dick was getting anywhere near my pussy.

Yes. It was mine. What?

And Alice, what would I do with that bitch? There were so many ways I wanted to hurt her for her treachery. The bitch had been lying from the start. So many things had happened because of her, namely James' death and my having to watch Bella hurt over that shit.

I guess Aro knew who he was when he was pulling the trigger.

I would repay Bella for her pain and loss with Alice's life.

Around eight that night, the guests started to arrive and the party was in full swing by nine. Speeches were given by associates and by me and Michael as well as Aro in congratulating my father on his birthday.

I told my father how great it was to call myself his son and though we butt heads a lot over the years, I loved him with all my heart. I meant every word. Some days my father wasn't my favorite person. He did dumb shit. He was irrational and had an ego the size of a fucking mountain but he was my pop.

The room was still when I stopped talking. Our guests were looking between us as if they were waiting for something to happen. I turned away about to return to my seat when I was grabbed from behind and pulled into a fierce hug from Pop. "I love you too, Kid. I always have. And always will."

"Me too." I held him just as tight, even closing my eyes.

The hug felt…weird. He held me like it was the last time he would touch me.

Was he about to take me out?

A part of me, for some strange reason, was okay. Because if someone was going to take me down, I would rather Pop. He gave me life so he was the only rightful person here to take me out.

Another part of me would be pissed if he was doing it because it would be because of Aro.

We pulled away and Pop stared me down with an almost eerie smile that sent a chill down my spine, and when he looked into my eyes and his filled with tears like he was ready to cry, but he was holding that shit back, right then I knew…he was just hugging his son.

It made me want to tear up too, but I pushed that shit down. There was no time for it.

"I love you, boy," he said and I could feel it. I could feel his love for me and see it in his eyes as he looked at me. He pulled me close as if he was about to hug me again but this time it was to whisper, "I know things are about to happen." I made to move away but he held me tight. "Jasper, I want you to take your brother and get out." I stood still and tried not to be shocked by what I was hearing. "I love you," he repeated. "You're my son and I love you. Get yourself and Michael out. I'm sorry."

"What for?" I said. I had to know.

He pulled back and slapped my shoulders with a happy smile plastered on his face as he mouthed, "For not believing you."

I pulled him into another hug and the crowd around us began to cheer, oblivious to our true conversation. "About what, Pop?"

"Aro and the Chekovs. I can't believe it. After everything…" He left the sentence there as he pulled out of my grasp. "I love you, son."

"I love you too, Pop."

Pop shouted for the party to carry on and for the women to get on the floor. The music was turned up and the mushy moment I had with my dad was over. I checked the time and walked to the dance floor taking the first girl I got my hands on and pulling her into my embrace. She was giggling from her happiness to be on the floor with me.

I spotted Alexei with a bunch of women around him, and then I found Leah standing not too far from him. I gave her a nod and she nodded back.

It was time.

The balloons were then released from the ceiling making the girl I was with, cheer with giddiness before she went back to her little sultry dance she was using in hopes of enticing me.

Too bad for her I was so fucking taken by an incredible woman. No one could compare to Bella.

The music blared and I kept up the pretence of enjoying my dance when another girl joined us. Leah stepped closer, not trusting anyone who got too close to me.

Whatever we were doing needed to be done now. Alexei was dancing with the girls, groping them and acting like a complete asshole. Sergei was distracted by his father, although his eyes would occasionally find me or his brother in the crowd.

Leah stepped a bit closer and I spotted Simon following suit from another end. My guys were ready to do what needed to be done when I gave the order. A lot of motherfuckers were not walking out of this party tonight.

I was getting anxious and then the girl of my dreams walked in. I knew it was her and damn she was sexy as hell. The white dress with the high slit that stopped on her right thigh was giving a good fucking reason to say fuck this and storm over to her and throw her over my shoulder and get out of here.

What the fuck was she thinking? Was she trying to make me kill every man in the room for looking at her? She couldn't have picked something else? Something that wouldn't give me nightmares about Alexei feeling her up? Just picturing him doing it made me want to kill him right here with my bare hands.

But I did love her golden mask and the blonde wig. They were perfect. No one else recognized her while I was wondering how I could get her in bed while she wore only the mask and the wig. She looked so hot.

Leah was right beside me now, telling the girl in front of me to leave. Bella was such a daring bitch. She walked right up to us and stood in front of me, waiting for the whining girl to go away. I couldn't take my eyes off of her. The fucking dark brown irises were so hypnotic.

"Why?" The nameless chick in front of me whined.

"Because I said so," Leah stated. "Now get lost!"

She pouted as Leah grabbed her and the other girl and stepped away. Bella sauntered over to me. She placed her hands on my hips and came close enough for me to feel her before she started to sway.

"Hello," she said in a sultry tone.

"Hello." I smiled, leaning down to say in her ear while gripping her hips tight, "You look beautiful, what's your name?" while making her feel what she was doing to me.

We didn't know who was listening. We had a lot of traitors around us. I wanted to pull away and talk to her, but we couldn't. I wanted to tell her what my dad said. But there was no time.

Instead, I looked down into her big, beautiful eyes, wanting to tell her how sorry I was for being an ass, but she wouldn't let me.

"I…"

"I know." She mouthed, cutting me off before I made a mistake. She smiled at me and ducked her head before we were interrupted.

Suddenly, a disguised Bella was dragged out of my hands and pulled into Alexei's. "Jasper, what are you doing?"

My temper flared and my heart pounded with rage as I watched him pull her roughly into his body.

"You don't treat bitch like she is your woman!" Alexei said in chastisement. "You treat bitch like whore she is!"

With that, he groped Bella's ass and pulled her into his crotch, grinding on her.

In that moment, I wanted to make his face disappear and seriously contemplated doing it in front of everyone. I didn't give a shit about the bloodbath it would incur afterward. I just wanted to make his face disappear.

He had no idea how incredibly hard it has been for me to hold myself back all this time.

But Bella was a trooper. She took it in stride. I don't know what she saw on my face. I was aware she was staring right at me. Those big, expressive eyes didn't move until she took matters into her own hands by letting him dance the way he wanted to with her. Then she slowly led him away from me and out into the crowd just as Sergei cleared his throat behind me.

Smart fucking girlfriend I had. She saw the enemy on the approach. I loved that woman.

"My brother is obnoxious, isn't he?" Sergei said with a smile while he eyed his brother and the women, including Bella, as they danced together.

"I've got one." I smiled, watching Alexei too. I was masking my anger while I thought up ways to hurt the son of a bitch really, really bad. "I know how they can be."

He chuckled then said coolly. "Yet, we would do anything to protect them, even cover up a crime, wouldn't we?"

The taunting way he asked that made me clinch my fist and bite the inside of my mouth.

Oh fuck, I couldn't believe this shit!

Then again, I could. Sergei was just crazy and obnoxious as Alexei. The little punk had to learn his shit from somewhere and who better to teach him than a big brother who didn't give a shit about who he hurt?

And here he was, standing in front of me, subliminally admitting his involvement in Charlotte's death. The motherfucker was there. Sergei was there when Alexei tortured, raped and killed Charlotte. Maybe he was the one who killed Garrett.

My breath stopped. Something ran from the bottom of my foot to the top of my head. My temper flared even more. I wanted to rip him to shreds, but I smiled and answered, "Of course."

"Hmm," he said with a smile of his own and then stepped away. Leah, who was in my line of sight, and I exchanged a look before I walked from the dance floor. I took a seat where I could watch Bella as she danced with Alexei. I had to get this done, now more than ever. They had to pay for everything they were taking from me.

Alexei was very focused on Bella. That was good.

To not raise suspicion as to why I was suddenly so taken with Alexei and who was grinding on, I grabbed a different girl and went back to the dance floor. While she moved against me, it was Bella's moves that teased me and made me want to rip the Alexei's hands off for touching her in the same damn breath.

It burned a little to know she wasn't here with me, but then again, I hated Alexei enough and wanted him dead enough to look past it. Bella and I would have our days. Our life together was just beginning.

I stayed on the dance floor with the girl, even inviting another girl to join us. I could feel my girlfriend's eyes on me. More particularly, on the girls. Sometimes, I would feel a girl pull away from me a little, and I smiled knowing Bella was giving her death glares, since we were close enough to see each other clearly. Knowing Bella was eyeing the girls I was with, with contempt, made me feel proud of her for wanting to protect me from other chicks.

Our eyes met as she slid her body next Alexei's in a sexy move and she smirked at me, making me smile at the move. Then, our moment was interrupted.

A fight broke out. And my mind began reeling. Was this a part of Aro's plans? Because it damn sure wasn't a part of mine.

I left the girls behind and rushed over to what was happening. When I got there, all eyes were on one of Pop's guys, fighting with one of the Chekov's guards. The music stopped, and others around us were shouting at them to end it while they threw each other into my lounge area, breaking shit and ripping the place apart. Whatever. I wasn't angry about that shit.

I remembered Bella and Alexei and started to shove my way through the crowed to get back to the dance floor where they were. Leah and Simon were on me, moving bodies out of my fucking way. When I got to where Bella and Alexei had been, they were both gone. Shit! I wanted to panic but I also would like to think Bella was wise enough to use the fight as a distraction to make a move and get Alexei out of here.

And I think that was what she did.

I was about to smile when I heard a horrific scream and turned toward it. What the fuck was happening now?

I shoved through the crowd and got there in time to see Pop, his eyes wide as he stared right at me while holding his throat with blood gushing out of it.

My world stopped.

He was still a little way off, and I started pushing people out of my way, to get to him. I got up to his table and jumped over it, grabbing him up in my arms as he was about to fall to his knees. His other guards started to take notice and began running the people who were gathering around me away. While holding Pop in my arms, I deduced the fight was a hoax. It was a distraction for someone to kill my father.

"Somebody! Call a fucking ambulance!" I screamed. "Get help!" I shouted at the men standing around doing nothing. "Get help, you motherfuckers!"

"Jasper-Jasper-Jasper…" Pop tried to talk, his eyes wide open and pleading with me.

"Don't try to talk," I told him, before looking up and shouting, "Somebody! Get help!"

Michael dropped to his knees beside me. He was shaking but he was on his phone talking to 911.

"Jasper-Jasper-Jasper…" Pop's chest was rapidly moving up and down as he gaped for air.

"What is it, old man?" I said, keeping the panic out of my voice while I died inside. I didn't want this to happen to him. Not like this. I knew we weren't good people and we had done a lot of shit, but it shouldn't end like this. Not my pop dying like he was some fucking rat. "Tell me what you want and I'll do it. Want a drink?"

He gave me a shaky smile while he trembled in my arms. "I'm-I'm…sorry."

He was dying. I couldn't wait for the ambulance or the cops. We had to move. "We've got to get him to the hospital!" I said to Michael. "We can't wait for the fucking ambulance."

There were people out in the world who have survived horrendous shit happening to them; maybe my pop could make it. It was a long shot but it was a possibility.

Some of the guys helped me lift him. Michael ran outside with us and we got Pop in the nearest car. I got in the back with him. Michael jumped in the front seat and Simon got in the driver's seat. Michael looked scared. Leah said she would be right behind us. I told her to stay back and secure the place. She nodded. She knew what I meant. I wanted her to go and search for the killer. And if she found that bastard, she would keep him on ice until I got to them so I could make him pay for what he did to my father.

"Don't worry, Michael," I said with a small smile, trying to reassure my brother as Simon sped off with us. "It's going to be okay."

He nodded, but his eyes said he didn't believe me.

"Jasper…" Pop whispered.

"I'm here, Pop."

He pulled on my shirt, beckoning me closer. I leaned down and with his last breath, he whispered, "Aro..." and then he was gone.

"Stop the car," I said quietly at first before shouting, "Stop the fucking car!"

Simon stepped on the brakes and the car screeched to a stop.

"What is it?" Michael asked when he spun around.

"He's gone."

I pulled Pop close, hugging him to me. He may have been a bastard. We may have had our bad days and we barely got along, but he was my father. Earlier tonight, when he told me he loved me, I knew he meant that shit.

And now he was gone.

I got out of the car, leaving Michael and Simon to transport Pop's body to the hospital. I wouldn't trust my brother with anyone but Simon and where I was about to go to let out my pain, I had to go alone.

I stopped the car that had been following us, they asked about Pop and I ordered them to get out of the car.

Before I drove off, I told them he was dead.

I called Edward. He was at Bella's house. Despite what was going on between us, I liked to think of the place as hers. Seeing as I did buy it for her. Edward told me where Bella and his dad had gone. He said Beck had driven them. They were going to use Leah's cabin to do this. I guess Uncle Carlisle meant business about wanting to help me. Edward told me he had heard about Pop. I told him it was true while furiously wiping the tears from my eyes as I drove. I would mourn my father later. Now, I needed to avenge him.

They wanted a war and they were willing to go all out for it, including killing the leader of the gang they hoped to overthrow. Aro wanted the glory of the Volturi name back. He was never going to get it. The Chekov wanted the power the Whitlocks had; they would never get their fucking hands on it.

I got to Leah's spot and got out of the car. There was a black SUV parked up. Beck jumped out and said, "Boss," with a nod. "They're in there."

I nodded and made my way to the door. I was about to open the door when it opened for me. My uncle was standing there and I wanted to collapse in his arms in grief, but I couldn't. This was not the time.

"Follow me," he said and I did as I was told.

He was dressed in all black with his blonde hair slicked back neatly. I trailed behind him to the room in the back where screams were coming from.

"I was expecting you," Carlisle said. "Edward called. I'm sorry about Nicky, Jasper."

I couldn't answer. The wound was too fresh. I wanted to scream, cry and rip everything apart all in the name of mourning my father's passing.

I nodded and turned my attention to Bella, watching her work Alexei over like her own personal punching bag.

The woman was strong. There was something magnificent in the way she moved as she gave the bastard each punch and kick. Every one of her moves was clean, precise and deadly as they were fast and strong. He had no time to recover from one hit before she gave him another.

"You bitch!" He howled at her when she stopped to breathe and Bella spun and kicked him in the face before running a hand through her hair. She had removed the mask and wig.

When she spotted me, though Alexei was talking and spewing his shit and telling her his empty threats since the fucker was dumb enough to think he was leaving her alive, Bella's eyes held mine. She looked concerned.

Her beauty left me breathless. I felt like a lucky man even though shit was tumbling down around me. Look at the beauty in front of me. She looked glorious in her long white dress spattered with Alexei's blood.

"You both dead." Alexei huffed in pain.

"What happened?" Bella asked me, paying the idiot in the chair no mind.

"My father's dead."

Alexei laughed. "Good! Aro promised us the Whitlocks heads and he is delivering!"

"What do you want to do?" Carlisle asked me.

"Kill 'em all."

Bella smiled. "Then let's get started."

Bella got on top of Alexei and she didn't stop hitting him until I stopped her.

Alexei looked like a shell of himself but he was still talking shit. "You're going to let your bitch beat me up?" he asked as he spat blood from his mouth.

"No." I told the bastard as I moved Bella out of the way. "It's my turn."

 _ **Bella, 2006**_

"You've never seen him like this?" Carlisle asked as I watched Jasper in amazement. What I had started with Alexei, he came ready to finish. He didn't give Alexei time to talk trash. He just kept hitting him.

"Not like this." I have seen Jasper angry, but not this monster in the room with me and Carlisle. This monster was nothing but a killer. And he would not be sated until he got what he came for.

Alexei's life.

I wanted this to be my kill, but Jasper deserved it more. Char and Peter were his family.

Alexei Chekov wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed and he still tried to insult us, but every dumb shit he said, earned him a hit from Jasper.

Jasper stepped away, wringing his hands, wiping the blood on them over and over again.

"Why did you do it?" he said.

Alexei spat blood and scoffed. Jasper went on. "You want me? Here I am. She wasn't needed."

Alexei let out a hoarse sound that could pass for laughter. "So what? You want me to apologize for killing your redhead bitch?"

"You won't." Jasper faced him; stalking back over to him and hitting him so hard, he and the chair tumbled to the ground. Then he began kicking Alexei. His blows looked powerful enough to break a couple ribs.

He stopped and backed off. Alexei was gasping for air. "Why did you do it?" Jasper asked again; his tone cold and calculated.

Alexei decided being an idiot was the best way to go. While gasping, he worked up enough strength to tease Jasper. "You want me to beg for killing your little redhead whore? Do you…" he coughed up blood but continued proudly, "miss the ride she used to give? I'll never say sorry! I like it! She was good! Only…" He gasped for needed breath and then went on, "wished things would have lasted longer. She died too soon."

The admittance sent a shiver down my spine and the look of death of Jasper's face told me this was wanted he wanted to hear. Alexei would die now.

"So you and Sergei enjoyed her?"

I was stunned a little, but I should have expected it. Of course the older Chekov would be there. He hardly let Alexei out of his sight. I was sure he was looking for him now, but he wouldn't find this son of a bitch. And his demise was coming very soon.

Jasper didn't say anything. He moved to the table I had set up in the corner and picked up two of my knives before going back over to Alexei who was babbling about his time with Charlotte and the things he did to her. Fuck, he was annoying as shit. If Jasper didn't do something about him soon, I was going to take over just to shut him up.

I didn't have to make a move. Jasper went back to him, working silently as he lifted the chair with Alexei from the floor and righted it. Then he stepped around it, coming to stand in front of Alexei.

Alexei spat blood at him and laughed. "What? What are you going to do, bitch? Everything you love will die!"

Jasper maintained his silence as he began to work. He called us over and Carlisle and I approached.

"Hold him," Jasper ordered. A small part of me said I shouldn't be doing this, participating, but I wasn't about to turn back. I had pledged to help Jasper and I was not one to go back on her word. So while Carlisle and I held Alexei's writhing body, I watched Jasper cut his pants off. And when he placed the blade where I knew my knife was sharp enough to remove without much effort on Jasper's part, and I listened to Alexei changing his tune from bragging to pleading with Jasper for mercy before Jasper looked into his eyes with a bone chilling smirk and then he glanced down and cut it off.

Alexei's horrific scream was enough to wake the dead.

Carlisle and I backed off. Blood was gushing from the wound and Alexei continued to writhe and cry for his severed manhood.

Jasper wasn't moved.

Carlisle commented with slight pride and astonishment coloring his tone. "I can't believe he just did that! I've seen and heard about him doing shit but this was…"

I couldn't believe it either. I actually didn't know how to react and when I let out a little laugh causing Carlisle to tell me I was perfect for his nephew before he shook his head with a chuckle and stepped away, going back to the wall he had been previously leaning up against.

I didn't move. And I couldn't look away because the man I would always loved dark eyes held me captivated. He gave me a small smirk, causing a thrill to run up my spine before he went back to Alexei.

"You-u-u…bastard!" Alexei shuddered; his body shaking uncontrollably as he bled out from his castration.

Jasper stood over him waiting for whatever else will come out of the bastard's mouth.

"You're…all…" Alexei said weakly, "going to die."

It was the last thing he said before Jasper beat him to death.

For a few moments, we said nothing. He turned to me and Carlisle, and directing his eyes to Carlisle, he said, "Burn it all."

I found myself backing up as he stepped closer to me. Before I could get too far, he grabbed me and pulled me into his arms. He said nothing. His eyes moved from my eyes to my lips then his mouth was on mine. I returned the kiss as he roughly dominated the act. When he pulled away, I moved to get out of his grasp but he held me tighter, bringing his bloody hand up to caress my face. My heart pounded. Not in fear, but in love and lust. I wanted him and I didn't know what would have happened if I wasn't aware of Carlisle being in the room with us.

Jasper had only one thing to ask. "Were you going to leave me?"

I should lie.

I wouldn't.

"Yes."


	33. Almost There

_**Jasper, 2006**_

"Yes," she looked me dead in the eyes and said, telling me she wanted to leave me.

"Yes?"

"Yes," she repeated.

I pulled her into my body, glaring down at her. "You can't."

It came across more demanding than I meant it to be, but she wasn't going anywhere. I was about to say something when Carlisle interrupted, "You two should go get cleaned up."

I knew I had blood all over me, but as I looked down at Bella's ruined dress, thinking it was a shame it got messed up, I still couldn't deny how sexy she looked with dried blood splatter all over her.

I nodded to Carlisle. Bella tried to get out of my grasp, but I held her tight.

"We gotta get out of the room," she reasoned. She managed to push me away and was about to walk out, when I dragged her back and slammed her into the wall in front of me. I was angry.

I was about to speak when my phone rang.

I cursed and pulled it out of my pocket, answering it, "What?"

"I found him. Sergei," Leah said. "Don't have hands on him, but I know where the son of a bitch is."

"Make someone else tail him and move to the next phase of the plan." I hung up without another word to her.

"What next phase?" Bella asked.

I kissed her hard then pulled her out of the room with me. Uncle Carlisle passed us on our way out. He had a gasoline can in his hand and a smirk on his face as he went into the room that held Alexei's dead body.

Beck opened the back door of the truck for Bella and I pushed her into it, getting in beside her. I never took my eyes off of her. Beck shoved a two towels and a pack of wet wipes in my hand. I took them and threw them at Bella.

"Thanks," she said and started cleaning up while she eyed the cabin. Actually, her eyes were moving between the cabin and my face. "You're mad at me," she said matter-of-factly.

"I am."

She chuckled. "Is there something about Carlisle I should know?"

"Didn't look deep enough into his past, did you?"

"Yes," Bella said with a pout. It was going to burn her not to know this about Carlisle since she didn't like to be wrong.

"You've gotta be family, baby, to know everything." I teased. "All the dirty little secrets."

"Like?" she asked in an irritated tone.

I drew closer to her, grasping her neck and bringing her face close to mine. I liked that she didn't mind me being and she wasn't shying away from this side of me. I actually feared her seeing this side of me. I was scared to unleash it, because I was convinced it would make her take a step back.

I really didn't why I felt that way, since Bella had a monster within her too. I had seen it.

But that wasn't what was on my mind at the moment. Right now, I wanted to kiss her again. There was something intoxicating about her lips. I couldn't stop kissing her.

So I did. And it was sweet, slow, and deep and I would have taken it further if my uncle didn't interrupt us.

Carlisle cleared his throat, making Bella pull away. He smirked at the move. The motherfucker loved to gloat when someone jumped at his command. "It's time to go."

"We're good?" I asked as Beck jumped into the driver's seat.

"And about to get toasty," Uncle Carlisle said with a sinister grin on his face. I had really forgotten how bad he could be. I had buried the old days Grandpa used to talk about when Uncle Carlisle was a lethal man to mess with, deep in my subconscious.

But watching him now as he got in the passenger's seat with that look on his face and watching Bella watch him with a curious look on her face; like she was seeing this person for the first time. It brought my memories to the surface.

I leaned into her ear and whispered, figuring I would just let her know the truth about Uncle Carlisle. "My uncle used to be a cleaner for my grandfather."

Bella pulled away from me with an incredulous look on her face. Her eyes moved between me and Carlisle who was keenly watching her through the rearview mirror, gauging her reaction.

She was quiet for a moment as her eyes continued to dance between us. I even nodded in confirmation when her questioning eyes found mine again. "Like Garrett?" Bella finally asked.

I chuckled and then nodded.

She laughed and then went silent again before she said, "But…there's no record of that."

"I was that good," Carlisle boasted. "Certain people within your organization know. I was what was needed at that time for Grandpa Whitlock. He liked my methods. Nicky…" He chuckled darkly. "Nicky always cared too much."

I pushed down any resentment I felt toward my uncle for what he just said about Pop. "Things shouldn't have ended the way they did for him. Nicky deserved a better death than that; not something better suited for a snitch."

A snitch. Uncle was right. I have killed snitches like that. Beck started the truck just as Uncle Carlisle's words struck a chord in me and I said, "Before, at the party, Pop hugged me after my speech to him and he said he knew what was going on and how sorry he was for not believing me before then."

"He knew about Aro and his plans to take over?" Bella chimed in.

"Yes."

"And the side deal with the Chekovs?" she asked.

"Yeah."

"Shit," she said remorsefully. "I'm sorry."

I nodded and gave her hand a squeeze. She moved to take it from me, but I held tight. I felt like I had to keep touching her. If I didn't, she would disappear.

"So Nicky found out, huh?" My uncle said and then laughed a little. "That asshole was braver than I thought then."

"Why do you say that?" I asked, expecting my uncle to badmouth my dead dad. He and Pop wasn't the best of friends. They got along for the family's sake and then shared a mutual love for my mom and us kids, but that was where the affections ended between them. But beyond that, they couldn't stand each other.

He chuckled before answering, "I just thought he would be too scared to climb out from Aro's shadow and look into the shady shit that punk has been up to over the years. He always relied on Aro too much. And that junkie is nothing but a backstabbing son of a bitch."

I didn't ask anything and Uncle was silent for a second until he said in a solemn tone, "I'm truly sorry, Jasper. I know you'll grieve later, but I'm sorry this had to happen to you, kid."

"Thanks, Uncle."

I had lost both my parents now. I only had Michael has my immediate family left.

Uncle then said quietly, and if the car wasn't silent we wouldn't have heard him. "Hope you get to see Tanya's face, Nicky. She did love you a lot."

I forced the tears that threatened to spill from my eyes back down my throat. I wouldn't cry. Not yet. I had to get the people who did this first. After that, I would have the time to cry.

I felt her squeeze my hand tightly and I smiled and glanced over at her.

We weren't too far from the cabin now. We heard the explosion and Bella and I looked back and I smiled as we thought about that motherfucker Alexei roasting in there.

Bella glanced at Carlisle and he smiled and winked at her.

"Take us to Bella's house," I told Beck.

"Yes, Boss."

My phone rang and I answered it, "What?"

"Phase two is almost complete." Leah relayed.

"Good."

I could hear some punk begging her not to kill him, and I could picture Leah with her foot on his chest, holding him to the ground before a shot went off and the begging stopped then she said, "It's now complete."

"And New Moon Lounge?"

"Has quite a few Chekov associates trapped inside the burning building."

When I saw things were heading south for me and knowing Aro probably knew what I was up to, I realized I would have to take drastic measures. The idea came to me as I went over the list for the party and saw how many Chekovs and their associates would be in attendance to pretend they were there to celebrate my father's birthday along with the fake ass motherfuckers who sold my family out to those Russian bastards. Right then and there I knew this would be the perfect opportunity to light the fuckers up.

A lot of fucking birds with a couple of stones. They were fucking with a Whitlock and I was going to show them what that meant.

"What about the restaurant?" I asked.

"Already been bombed. I detonated it myself," Leah said. That was my girl. She was a destructive thing when I wanted her to be. That was why she was my general. The girl could wipe out a city without any remorse and she absolutely hated traitors.

"Good. Get to Aro's supporters. Get rid of them."

"Got it," she said and hung up.

Leah and some of my most trusted would be hunting Aro's supporters now and killing every last one of them.

"What did you do?" Bella asked as I pocketed my phone.

I smiled before giving her a quick but lingering kiss on the lips. "Just cutting out the competition, baby."

She didn't say anything along the line of why was I doing that shit; she just got straight to the point. "What about the main players?"

"We're handling Aro and Jane together."

That made Bella's face light up with a devilish grin. "Good."

"I'm gonna get Alice for you."

She didn't answer verbally, but the squeeze of the hand she gave me, told me she was thanking me.

I relaxed in my seat, staring straight ahead as I squeezed back. "I love you, Bella."

"I love you too."

When we pulled up to the house, I called Simon to check on Michael. Simon put him on the phone.

"Jasper, are you alright?" my brother asked me.

"I'm good."

He sounded nervous. "Jas, your restaurant, the club, they went up in flames, why are they doing this to us? Don't they have any dignity?" There was an edge in his voice. "They just killed Pop, for fuck sake!"

I gotta be straight with him. "They want to wipe us out, Michael."

He sighed, losing the edge in his tone. "Jas, Simon says it's Aro who's helping the Chekovs. Tell me…tell me that's not true. He's family."

"It's him." I practically growled at my brother. "Listen, I want you to stay put, I'm going to come for you. I'll make sure you're safe."

"Be careful, Jasper," he said sadly. "I love you."

"Love you too."

"Is he okay?" Bella asked me.

"Yeah." I sighed. "He's safe. I've just got to get to him and get him somewhere safer."

She nodded. "I have to contact Rose and Dad."

I looked her up and down. "You need to change your clothes. So do I."

Bella followed my eyes and then glanced back up at me with a smirk. "And we'll need weapons. Lots of them."

"I've got an arsenal at your disposal, baby."

"Where?"

"You'll see."

She gave me a cunning grin. "I think I know where."

I chuckled. "Of course you would."

There was a moment of silence between us before she broke it. "You know, this might be the last time we're like this," she said softly, the care in her voice tugging at my heart. "I know…We know how I felt about your dad and if my…if it had come down to it, I might have…" I gave her a hard look, making her shut up for a second. She settled for just saying, "Listen, I'm sorry about your dad, okay?" a minute later.

My insides were a ball of hatred, grief and confusion, but I smiled a broad smile…for her.

"Bella, this won't be the last time we're together, I promise you."

"How did you know?" Her voice was so small and she sounded so innocent, I almost forgot the woman could be cold blooded killer when she needed to be.

"I know because I love you and I'm serious about this not being the end. We love each other and one day we'll be able to live and just be boring and happy together."

She laughed. "We just killed a guy together, and you're talking about being happy and boring together?"

"Yeah!" I laughed, knowing I wasn't sure if I could make this dream come true for her, but, fuck, if I wouldn't try. "We're going to go on normal dates because while we have slept together, I have yet to take you out on proper dates."

"Like pick me up with flowers and shit?"

"Exactly."

She chuckled. "We'll go dancing?"

"I'm a fantastic dancer." I boasted.

"Really?" She smiled ruefully and it was beautiful.

"That's right. My mama raised gentlemen, Bella. My brother and I know how to woo women."

Bella laughed. "Woo women!" She continued to laugh before she said, "Any wooing you've got to do will be with me and if I catch you wooing any other woman, you and her will see how exciting I can make your lives." She was smiling but she was dead serious in her threat so I pulled her to me for another kiss.

"Let's go."

We got out of the truck and Carlisle and Beck followed us out. We stood out in the open, but I wasn't ready to walk across a too quiet front lawn while wondering where the hell everyone was?

"What's going on?" Beck said, suspicious as to why there was no one around.

"Get your gun out," I ordered them.

We all got out our weapons and nodded in agreement before we began to approach the front door cautiously. The hair on the back of my neck was standing up. Something wasn't right. Then we saw it. The men's body. All the guys I had left to watch the place were dead. There were bodies everywhere.

"Let me go in first," Carlisle jumped and said as I was about to reach out and open the front door. Bella pulled me back as Beck nodded to her and went ahead of me, following behind Carlisle. Bella and I brought up the rear.

We got inside and there were more bodies. Every single guy was dead. What the fuck? Who did this? It had to be Aro. Maybe he came here looking for Bella.

"This has to be Aro," I said to her.

"We've got to find Edward and Emmett," Bella said. There was a little nervousness in her tone but she covered it quickly. Damn, I actually found sweet that she cared about those two knuckleheads. It made me jealous she was thinking about other men but it made me happy they were family and wouldn't dare try shit with Bella or else I'd kill them. Although I would have to store the gleeful feeling away for when I wasn't killing sons of bitches.

We were in the middle of the living room now. Bella decided to branch off to the office. She wasn't gone a minute before she was running back to us.

"Edward's in here! He's hurt!" She ran back to the office with us on her tail.

We found Edward on the floor, lying on his stomach. Bella got down beside him with Carlisle, who looked almost afraid to touch his own kid to assess his wound. It was amazing how fast my uncle priority could change. A couple moments ago he was the cleaner my grandpa used to rave about when he was alive, according to Pop, and now he was back to being a devoted father who was scared if his only kid was going to live or die.

Edward coughed and groaned when Bella turned him over with Beck's help.

"Shit!" Edward said, sounding pissed. "A few of the dead guys out there are Russians and I killed them."

"Good, now shut up," Bella said to Edward then ordered Carlisle. "Get over here, Carlisle!"

Her demanding tone snapped my uncle into action and he went to help to his boy. Edward was shot in the side. He had done what he could by putting pressure on the wound to slow the bleeding, but he explained how he got weak and passed out.

"Emmett's in the panic room." He sounded weak again like he was about to faint.

"Why didn't you go in?" I asked.

"No time," Edward groaned. "She was quick. Caught me by surprise. She wanted Emmett but I was in her way. I pushed us into here. God, Bella, tell Leah…"

"Shut up!" Bella told him. "You're gonna tell her yourself!"

"Who?" Carlisle asked just as the phone on the desk started ringing.

Glancing at Bella, I noticed she was breathing heavily and glaring at the ringing phone. "What is it?" I asked her.

"It's Alice," Edward answered. "She shot me. Came over the intercom and said she would be waiting for…"

"That's enough talking," Bella said, cutting him off. "You focus on making it, okay?"

Edward gave her a slight smile while she squeezed his hand in support. I moved to answer the phone and give the little bitch a piece of my mind but Bella stopped me to say…

"Put it on speaker."

I nodded and did what she asked.

"Well!" Alice's irritated voice came on and said, "It took you assholes long enough to pick up. Bella? Are you there?"

"I'm right here," Bella replied.

"Good," Alice said. "It's nice to talk to you, sis. Oh man! It feels so good not to lie anymore!" She went on. "Isn't it, sis?"

"Yeah," Bella deadpanned. "It feels really good."

"You don't sound too happy."

"What can I say, Alice? You killed some good guys and you shot a friend of mine and you want me to be happy about it?"

Alice countered without missing a beat. "Well, at least it wasn't Jasper. Don't think I wasn't tempted when I saw you two get out of the truck." She laughed. "I could've killed him then. Watched while you cried as he bled out his miserable life into your arms." She paused while Bella and I exchanged a look. Alice was here.

"Sniper," Bella mouthed to me. "She's good."

I scoffed. What the fuck was with this family? Then again, they were Aro's kids, and he was a fucking psycho.

"You could've." Bella said. "Why didn't you?"

"Daddy said not to."

Daddy? Fuck! She had a close relationship with Aro. Enough to call him daddy. Damn it. We could be thoroughly fucked because this mini psycho was outside somewhere with a sniper ready to blow our heads off. How would I get my cousin and Emmett out of here?

"Calm down," Bella signaled and mouthed to me while she left Edward's side and came to stand beside me. She took my hand in hers. "I'm here."

I mouthed to her about how we would get them out. She replied it would be okay.

"Why are you so quiet, sis?" Alice asked over the speakerphone.

"Thinking about where you could be, Alice."

"Hmm…it feels really good to be acknowledged by you," Alice said in a dreamy tone. "For you to know the truth about our real family and the stupid made up one you grew up in with Charlie Swan and his dumb kids!"

I squeezed Bella's hand when she bristled at Alice's rude comment about her family.

She nodded, telling she would be okay.

"We are Volturi," Alice went on; unaware of how much we want to rip her head off. "We will rise from the ashes. No one can stop us. By the way, where is Rosalie, Carmen, and Charlie? I know you're hiding them. Charlie just fell off the grid after meeting up with you I was told. As for the blond bitch, I escaped her but I wanted to repay your tramp of a sister for some of the punishment she gave me. I mean I played Charlie well but Rosalie just wouldn't buy the act!" She shouted at the end then got calm again. This chick was bipolar, wasn't she? "By the way, how's Edward doing? Bled out yet?"

We looked at Carlisle who looked slightly relieved but Bella gave Alice what she wanted to hear. "Just about. It won't be long now."

Bella beckoned to Beck silently asking for his phone. He pulled it out of his pocket and gave it to her. I watched as she opened up a text and typed, _"Get on the move. Need meds. Injured. Require transport. Prep kit. Signed, Honey Bee."_ She hit 'sent' and I didn't have to wonder who she was talking to. I knew it was sent to her dad, Charlie.

A reply came in an instance and thankfully the phone was on silent. It read, _"On the way. Know Baby Volturi is in the hot seat. Will be cautious. Signed, Fox One."_

He knew about Alice. Damn, this family amazed me.

"Let's cut to the chase, Alice," Bella said confidently. "What do you want?"

"I think we should," Alice replied.

"Then tell me what you want?"

"You. Dead. By my hands. I want to prove to daddy that I'm the best. He thinks you are but I know that I'm the best!" She yelled and you could hear the jealousy in her tone.

What surprised me aside from Aro knowing Bella was his kid was the fact that he admired her?

"I was the one who infiltrated your cozy little family and turned it on its head. I even got your so called brother killed. Daddy enjoyed that by the way. So, thanks." She giggled after her rant while Bella bristled. I squeezed her hand again and she glared at me. I was silently begging her with my eyes to stay focus.

I know I want to raise hell until there was nothing left to burn, but we couldn't let them get in our heads. We had to win this.

"Fine. I have to give you that, Alice," Bella said in a tight voice. "You're very good!"

"How fucking right you are, bitch!" Alice yelled again.

Carlisle and Beck were carefully moving Edward to the corner of the room when the panic room door opened and Emmett peeked out. He threw a crumpled up paper at me, hitting me in the stomach. It fell to the ground and I bend down to pick it up.

" _Get Edward and the others in here. Charlie's orders."_ It read.

I showed the paper to Bella and she smiled while Alice continued to babble about her victories over the Swans and how dumb she thought they were. I had to give it to Bella. She answered every time to Alice's glee. The crazy bitch would giggle when Bella sounded defeated by her. My girl was playing with her head big time.

I moved to help my uncle and Beck with Edward when Alice's voice halted us. "Damn, I really hate Jasper's office because I can't get to see what you are all up to. I think you're doing something."

"Why don't you come and check for yourself?" Bella said.

She laughed. "Why don't you come out and find me, sis? Daddy wants us to duke it out. He wants to solve a little score once and for all. And I am all for it."

"What score?" Bella sounded intrigued and I didn't like it.

"To see which of us is the better daughter. Whoever dies, loses." Alice said with a giggle.

Bella took a moment and I hoped it was a moment to consider what she was about to do. We hurriedly got Carlisle and Edward into the panic room with Emmett and closed that fucker. Beck stayed with me. He refused to leave my side, stating Leah would have his head if he did.

Just as he said her name, my phone started ringing. Alice laughed and said in a sing song voice, "I hear a phone and I think it's for Jasper! You should answer, Jasper! It's motivation on the other end!"

I looked at Bella curiously. She looked at me and then asked Alice, "What do you mean?"

"Remember I said the Volturi are rising from the ashes and we are not dealing with those who won't comply. So! A few measures had to be taken."

"What the fuck are you talking about?" I intervened and said. I was sick of the taunting. I wanted kill her already.

Bella gave me a hard look.

Alice wasn't fazed by my anger. This chick definitely had a few screws loose. "You see, Jasper. You caused it on yourself. Daddy hates you, yes, but he detested you even more for loving his daughter. He knew about Mexico. Who do you think set the whole thing up? Banner's dumb ass? Oh please! Carmen was unaware of what was going on but her obsessed ass almost got taken out for stepping on Daddy's toes, but you took the cake when you rescued Bella and help her kill all of the guys there. And then Alexei comes to town and what happens…you step in again! Saving her from being assaulted by Alexei. Where is he? Sergei is having a hard time locating his brother, Whitlock? What did you do with him?"

"Why did he kill my father?"

"Because Nicky Whitlock's purpose has been served! It's daddy's time to rule now," she said with laughter coloring her tone.

"I'm gonna kill you," I told her.

She laughed. "I'd like to see you try."

"What have you done, Alice?" Bella asked her but her eyes were solely on me.

"Well, I lost the trail to Rosalie after killing Carmen's father, Eleazar, on Daddy's orders. Carmen is in hiding but when I'm through with you, I'll go and find her. As for Jasper's motivation, we have Michael."

My heart stopped. Aro had my brother.

"Simon is dead. He put up a good fight. He was a good little guard, Jasper. Really was." Damn, Simon was good people. He was one of my best. A loyal guy. "As for Leah, Jane is bringing her in as we speak so the call you didn't pick up was in fact, Jane." She sighed and then said in a crazy tone, "I don't think I'm forgetting anything. You see, Bella loves you, Jasper so when I say you walk out here and give yourself up, she will follow to protect you. If she doesn't, then I will kill you."

I looked at Bella and shook my head no. I wasn't going to let her walk out there, but I had to. I looked at Beck and beckoned to Bella, telling him to stay with her.

"What's it gonna be, Whitlock?" Alice asked over the speakerphone.

I went over to Bella while she shook her head no and grabbed her, kissing her hard.

"Don't!" she said when I moved away.

"I'm coming out," I told Alice and walked out of the office, heading for the front door.


	34. Savior

_**Bella, 2006**_

"I'm coming out," He told Alice then walked out of the office, heading for the front door.

Watching this made my heart stop and start again. I couldn't let Jasper do this.

I ran out behind him. Catching up with him on his way to the opened front door. I grabbed his shoulder and spun him around before he could step into the light.

"Don't!" I said again because it seemed like he didn't hear me the first time. "Don't do this, Jasper!"

He shrugged off my hold on him, looking me dead in the eyes as he said, "I have no choice." His tone was filled with determination and remorse. I knew why he was doing this. For me and the last of his family, Michael.

But I couldn't let him do it. There had to be another way. I was determined to let Jasper walk out of this alive. I couldn't stand back and watch him walk out of here, knowing Alice will probably put a bullet between his eyes as soon as he came into her line of sight. What would stop her from doing it?

"Didn't you hear what she said?"

"Didn't you?" Jasper countered. "She's got Michael, Bella. Leah too. I can't walk away. I love you but I've gotta save them."

He made to move off again and I stopped him. I had to think of something fast. But what could we do? We were trapped. If we walked out of here together, it would be suicide. And I couldn't give Alice what she wanted. I wasn't into her sick competition to see which one of us Aro loved more. I didn't need even want to acknowledge the fact that I was related to that murderous son of a bitch, much less to delve into understanding him. And to know that he had been admiring me since the Mexico incident told me he has had a hand in my life for quite some time.

"I love you and that's why I can't let you walk out there…alone."

"No!" Jasper was ready to refuse my offer. "I won't let you!"

"Let me?" I scoffed while looking up at him challengingly. "You're not letting me do anything. I'm ending this shit!"

I moved around him, heading to the door first but he pulled me back in his arms. My body slammed into his and he held me to him with an arm around my shoulders. I could still hear Alice's voice screeching over the speakerphone for Jasper to come out.

"Why?" His voice was low and filled with concern.

"Jasper, let me go. We don't have time for this." I made to walk forward but he held on tight, stopping me.

"Tell me why. It's suicide if you walk out there. You heard her. She wants to kill you to prove to Aro that she's the best. You've unknowingly been upstaging her all this time and she's tired of it. She will kill you, Bella."

It was an excellent point. "Yeah, she probably will, but I'm still not letting you go alone."

I made to walk away and he spun me around to face him. No words were spoken as we stood there staring at each other. Alice's raised voice became distant and the dimly lit room filled with dead bodies faded into the background. It was just Jasper and me and the way he was looking at me.

"Who are you?" he asked; his voice was filled with amazement.

I sighed and then pushed myself up on my toes to meet his lips. As I pulled away, I said, "The woman who loves you." Then I took his hand and we walked into the light together.

We stepped out the front door and I took a deep breath, waiting on Alice to make her move. The ball was in her court.

 _ **Jasper, 2006**_

We stood in front of the house waiting on Alice to make her move. Looking over at the woman by my side as she stood next to me, bravely holding my hand in hers, I smiled. In that moment, no matter what happened next I knew I would love her forever.

A small army of guys started to approach with Alice appearing among them. Bella sighed deeply as if she was psyching herself up for whatever came next. I held her hand tightly letting her know I was here so she wouldn't have to go through whatever they had planned for us alone.

The men surrounded us like we were the most dangerous creatures on Earth. Some of them looked happy to be able to point their guns at us, or mostly at me, while others looked like they were about to shit their pants.

Bella squeezed back letting me know she understood so I smiled at the idiots. It was deadly and the fools knew that if the situation was any different, they would all be dead.

Alice stepped to the front with an assault rifle pointed at us. She sighed with a satisfied smile at me and Bella. "Good! The lovebirds are here! Now, let's get this show on the road. Come, come," She hurried us along while the men surrounding us ordered us to walk. "We have somewhere to be," Alice added.

Somewhere to be was probably wherever the hell Aro was.

She stopped as two black SUVs pulled up. Before Bella and I were shoved into the one Alice was getting into, we heard her telling the men to find and kill Uncle Carlisle. She was sure Edward had already bled out. And they were to find and kill Emmett and my uncle before burning the house down.

I chuckled dryly, making Alice look at me when she got into the vehicle. "What is it, Whitlock? Mad because I'm going to burn your house to the ground?"

"Wondering why?" I asked as the driver started it and we sped off.

She looked between me and Bella, who had yet to say anything, with a smile. "'Cause it meant something to Bella," she said as we raced down the road. I could only hope my uncle got himself, Emmett and his son out. Did Charlie get to them? Or would he be too late? I pushed the worry to the back of my mind and stayed in the moment.

Bella was glaring at Alice. "What are you talking about?" she snarled at Alice, making her laugh then reprimand Bella.

"I think you should take the base out of your tone while talking to me, Sis. Try to remember, I have the handle at the moment, while you're holding the blade."

This was Alice telling Bella not to fuck with her because she had the power to hurt her. But Bella wasn't having it. She wasn't about to back down from Alice.

She drew close to Alice from the backseat and said in a threatening yet teasing tone, "Try to remember, Alice. I don't mind getting cut as long as I get what I want."

"And what is that?" Alice was shaken by Bella's cold demeanor and open threat but she refused to show it. Instead, she tried to act like it didn't bother her, even though we both knew how bad Bella could get. She was downright deadly.

Bella didn't answer. She just eased back into the seat beside me with a smirk on her face as she eyed her sister. "Where are you taking us?"

Alice didn't answer that. "Aren't you worried about what we'll find in the house or what we'll burn?" She was pathetically trying to bait us. But Bella wasn't saying anything and I wasn't about to.

"Should we be?" Was all I had to say.

Alice looked at me and grimaced. "So, Bella, you're letting your dick answer for you?"

Bella sighed heavily and then scoffed at Alice. "Why shouldn't I? He's doing great, isn't he?"

"Let's see how well he does against Daddy," Alice boasted. "Daddy couldn't wait for this day."

"He just had to destroy everything to get it, right?" Bella said in a condescending tone.

Alice wasn't having it. She screeched a weird sound and reached out and slapped Bella hard across the face. I was about to slap the bitch when I was restrained by some punk in the back of the truck. The son of a bitch was choking me with his arm around my neck.

Before I could break free, Bella got into the back with them while Alice screamed at her to stop.

She didn't listen.

Bella broke the neck of the guy who was holding my neck, moving the pressure he had on me away. She then moved on to the guy who was supposed to be restraining her, beating the shit out of him.

Alice was about to climb into the back and since my feet weren't bound I kicked the bitch back into the front seat. She landed with a huff and quickly got up, trying again. I kicked her in the face this time while Bella killed the punk in the back.

It was enough for Alice. The driver screeched the truck to a stop on her orders while she got back up, screaming, "That's enough!" to her sister as she pointed a gun at my head. "I will blow him away if you don't behave!" She got on the phone, screamed some shit at someone and then hung up with the gun still pointed at my forehead.

This would be Bella's chance. And I wasn't going to be shy about it.

"When the door opens, get outta here, you hear me, Bella? I looked around at her. She was staring straight at me. "Get outta here." Her eyes moved between me and Alice and the driver. Another SUV came to a stop and then I could see our truck being surrounded, but I didn't care. "Bella, get out of here. I know you can. So fucking do it. Just go!"

"Don't you listen to him," Alice countered. "I _will_ kill him."

"Bella, go!"

"Shut up!" Alice shouted at me.

Fuck this bitch. I would save my girl. I knew she could escape. "Listen to me! Not her! Get outta here, Bella!"

"You move a fucking inch and he's dead!" Alice yelled.

Bella's eyes were dancing between us but I had to make sure she understood. "I'm dead anyway, baby. Just go."

The door opened and I was dragged out while trying to keep my eyes locked on Bella. They opened the back and I prepared to distract them so she could make a run for it, but Bella just walked around from the back of the truck with her hands held up in the air in surrender.

While we were both being bound and handcuffed, I asked, "Why didn't you go?"

She smiled at me and it was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. I was so smitten with this woman, even her smiles were pretty to me. "You're here, so where am I going?"

I had no answer for that.

We were thrown back into the truck with Alice after the dead bodies were dragged out. She quarreled the whole way about Bella and mine's attitude like we were acting irrational in a perfectly harmless situation. The delusions of this woman actually worried me.

"I mean how could you, Bella?' Alice stressed. "Daddy just wants you to accept us and all you can think about is Jasper! It makes Daddy so angry that you want to be with Jasper. It's really bad. You're going to have to apology for it. I mean, Daddy could've killed you long ago, but he spared you. Not for Jasper fucking Whitlock! Because you're a Volturi and Daddy sees potential in you."

Bella's face was picture of murderous as we listened to Alice's rant. Aro thought he had a say in her life? He has been watching her all this time and he wanted Bella on his side? Listening to Alice, made Bella struggled against the handcuffs while growling from behind the duct tape over her mouth.

The drive came to a stop. Bella and I looked at each other, wondering where we were. Alice got out of the front and came around the back with the driver. When they opened the trunk and we were dragged out of the back, I realized we were back where it all started for me.

This was where James had been killed.

The location registered to Bella. I could see it in her eyes. "Guess where this is?" Alice said to her. Bella locked eyes with her as she continued gleefully. "This is where James died! God! It sucked to pretend being hurt when we went to identify his body. If you knew how I felt about pretending to like him…man, it was hard, Sis."

Bella looked ready to kill Alice for what she just said about James. Fuck, I wanted to kill her. How could say some shit like that to the man's sister?

"It was so much easier seeing him dead," Alice said in relief. "At least Daddy helped me out there."

Bella didn't need to hear anymore. She head butted Alice. When Alice fell, Bella kicked her in the ribs and didn't stop stomping on the bitch until a couple guys tackled her to the ground.

Alice was coughing and spitting out blood while she laughed. "You bitch! I'm so gonna to enjoy killing you!"

When the guys lifted Bella to her feet, she looked like she wanted to do some more damage so I helped. I slammed my fists into the guy on the right's face, busting his nose before kicking the one on the left into the balls. Another guy came at me, and I punched him in the face. I stole the gun from another and killed him with it, before firing at Alice and the others. She took cover quickly and I cursed.

Fuck! I wanted to kill her.

Bella got to my side just as more guys ran out of my warehouse surrounding us with their guns cocked and aimed at us. I felt like we were about to die like Bonnie and Clyde. Then I saw Sergei step out from the mass.

He looked down at the dead, seemingly impressed. "Not bad. If it wasn't for the fact that I know you killed my brother and I killed your father, I think we could have worked well together."

I pointed the gun at him at the mention of Pop. He smiled and it was as deadly as the one I would give an enemy.

"I think you won't shoot because I have the last of your family. Your brother, Michael. I don't think you want him dead, do you?" He was teasing me. But I paused either way. He smirked then called out to Alice. "You can come out, Alice. Nothing will happen." He thought he had me subdued with the threat of killing Michael. I just needed to know where my brother was and then he would be dead.

Alice came out of hiding. She eyed me and Bella with hatred before making her way over to Sergei. "They're so violent," she complained.

Bella scoffed next to me.

Sergei ordered the gun taken away from me and for me and Bella to be brought into the warehouse with them. The duct tapes were removed from our mouths but we remained handcuffed.

"Are you sure?" Bella asked as we were escorted in.

"No," I said to her with a chuckle. "But I've gotta know."

"It could go wrong."

"Then get out."

I looked at her and she was staring me. She gave me a quick peck on the lips and I didn't care about the inquisitive looks from the assholes around us. I only saw her eyes.

Let's get this shit over with. Whatever happened next, I was ready.

 _ **Bella, 2006**_

He was ready for what came next. I felt it within me. Whatever happened, Jasper would accept it. But if it meant me losing him, I couldn't because I would not accept losing another person I loved. So I had to get him out of this. Alice was boasting about being a Volturi and how Aro wanted to rebuild the family from the ashes of the friends he murdered to get here. If I have to make Alice and her father think I was ready accept being one of them, then so be it.

I would do anything to save him. I could live with the weight of my decision. Even if I had to lie and live like a Volturi just to keep him alive.

When I had kissed him I was slightly saying goodbye. I didn't want to. But if I have to…for him, I would.

He didn't pick up on what I was doing thankfully.

So I pulled away from him and stepped closer to Alice. Guns were trained on me and Sergei Chekov was watching me in amusement and curiosity. If he knew what I wanted to do to his eyes, he would direct them somewhere else.

"Alice?"

She jumped a little before shouting at the men to shoot me if I make a move. I smiled at her. "Shoot me? I thought we had something to prove to our father." It made me sick to call Aro my father even if he was, but the way Alice lit up made the move well worth it. So I swallowed the bile riding up my throat and went on, "You said we had to prove who was better. You made it sound like I could redeem myself in his eyes for all the mistakes I made."

Alice puffed out her chest in pride. "Too bad you won't be able to beat me and get to see what it's like to have our father's love." She teased. Whatever Alice had planned, I knew she couldn't beat. She was going to die here tonight. She just didn't know it yet.

"That's only reserved for you?" I asked genuinely curious what this crazy bitch's answer would be.

"Yes," she said proudly. "Daddy thinks it would be good for me to stop pining away over the fact that I seem to always be competing with the greatness that is Isabella. It's what he calls you…Isabella." Fuck, hearing that makes me want to hate my own name.

"So you're sure you can beat me?" I teased.

She scoffed. "Please! You were raised by that asshole, Charlie Swan! He couldn't even catch Daddy and he's supposed to be this top agent." There was a little uncertainty in way she talked about me as she continued, "I mean, when you came to meet Charlie and you tried to get me out of the car, I'll admit…." She chuckled nervously and then covered quickly with a wild cackle. "I was a little shaken."

Good. Even a little shaken was something to work with.

"So why aren't we getting the show on the road?"

"Are you in a hurry to die?!" She shouted like a crazed person. But it was shaky and I liked that.

"Are you?" I challenged.

Sergei laughed heartily. "I like your bitch, Jasper. She's strong with a nice hint of crazy. I'll enjoy playing with her."

I didn't take my eyes off of Alice but I was praying Jasper wouldn't answer Sergei's bait. He was trying to make him make a move; do something irrational. He didn't want to fight Jasper fairly.

Then again, these were murderers and thieves. What was fair to them? The old gangs who honored codes and all that shit were a dying breed or dead already. All that was left behind were these days were hungry bastards who only wanted power and didn't know what to do with it. They couldn't think beyond their petty egos.

I felt his presence next to me as Jasper came to a stop beside me. He was going to make a deadly move. I could feel it. "You brought us here to talk?" he said in a snarky tone as if he was bored. Sergei and Alice looked surprised. Jasper wasn't through. "What? Are you going to torture us with speeches and empty promises?"

Sergei was getting pissed. Alice looked like she wanted to rip Jasper's face off. She looked like she was a hundred shades of crazy.

Jasper pointed at her as he said, "That one said she wanted a match with Bella and you said you had Leah and my brother. So where are they? Are you going to beat the shit outta me first and then make me see them or are you just going to kill me?"

My breath stopped for a second when Sergei pulled his gun and pointed it at Jasper's head with his finger on the trigger.

"Don't test me." He growled at Jasper. "Where is Alexei?"

Jasper wasn't moved by Sergei's demanding tone. He smirked at him, teasing him. "You know where he is."

"What did you do to my brother?!"

Jasper chuckled and didn't miss a beat as he answered, "Made him scream like a bitch."

Sergei took a step back. He seemed lost in his mind for a couple of seconds before he smiled evilly and said, "I guess I should have seen this coming. After all, I did help him kill that redhead whore of yours. And I did slit your daddy's throat tonight. Killed him like the little bitch he was."

Jasper chuckled but it almost sounded like a deep growl. "Pop's time was coming up any ways."

Good. At least he was pretending like it didn't hurt as much I knew it did for him to be facing his father's killer.

We were taken inside the warehouse with a small army of thugs watching our every move. Some of them moved to Sergei and Alice's side while a few stayed by me and Jasper. It was strange. They seemed to almost surround us in a protective way.

What was going on here?

"Where's Aro?" I asked Alice when I spotted someone familiar among the men standing alongside Jasper and me.

Was it really her? Was she here, dressed like a guy?

Alice smiled and waved at a surveillance camera I had spotted. I noticed a few of them as we were being led in here. "He's watching us."

"From where?"

She laughed and didn't answer me.

When she turned to Sergei to say something, the familiar person I had glanced at moved to Sergei and Alice's side of the open space. I smiled internally at Leah's bravado. She was indeed Jasper's general. She was good. Coming in here dressed like a guy so she could carry out whatever Jasper had planned.

So they had lied. They might have Michael. But they didn't have Leah. It was a ploy to draw Jasper out. But he had a plan of his own seeing as Leah was here in disguise. That meant Jasper only came for his brother. He knew what he was walking into.

Jasper met my gaze when I looked up at him. He had a slight grin on his face. It was almost demented. It was so dark and scary. I loved this side of him too. This was his monster.

"What would you have done if I listened to you and ran?"

He smiled wider. "Find you as soon as I was through with them."

My breath caught at how incredibly dangerous he sounded.

I believed every word too.

I quickly shifted my glare back to Alice. I didn't want to alert them. Shit was about to go down.

Just as I thought it, Alice stepped away. I let her ramble about her big plans while Jasper and Sergei had each locked in some silence battle until Sergei broke it.

"Don't you want to see your brother?"

"Is he really here?"

Alice stopped her ramblings and she and I were looking between Jasper and Sergei.

"You don't believe me?" Sergei asked in an agitated tone. "You think I lie?"

Jasper shrugged his shoulders.

Sergei's eyes flared with anger. His calm demeanor cracking as he demanded two guys to go and get Michael. They walked to the back and came back a few minutes later, dragging a beaten and bloodied Michael with them.

"Dump him there," Sergei told the men and they dropped Michael at Jasper and mine's feet. The idiots laughed as they walked away. On the outside, Jasper didn't seem shaken by his brother's weakened state, but I knew this had to tearing him up internally. Sergei's words were only adding fuel to the fire. "He's near death, you know," Sergei boasted. "While I bludgeoned him I thought since I killed the father, why not kill a son too? But who knows I just might be lucky enough to wipe out the Whitlock name tonight."

Jasper, who had bent down to hold up Michael in his arms, snapped his eyes to Sergei while Michael was trying to speak to Jasper. He was holding his shirt in a tight grip as blood spilled from his mouth. Whatever was going to happen needed to happen now so we could save Michael.

Sergei laughed at Michael's attempt to speak to Jasper. "Look! He's trying to talk!" He raised his gun, pointing at them. "I think I should put him out of his misery," he said. "What do you think, big brother? Any last words?" Sergei asked as he pointed the gun at Michael's head while his eyes stayed trained on Jasper with nothing but amusement in them. "Don't worry you'll be seeing him soon. I'm just feeling courteous."

What was Jasper going to do? I was prepared to make a move. From Leah's position, she was close enough to shoot Sergei in the head if she wanted to. But that wasn't the way he was going to die.

"Why are you still talking?" Jasper said to him.

Sergei looked a little taken back by the question or the aloof way Jasper said it; like he was annoyed.

"What do you mean why am I still talking?" Sergei said as he drew closer to us. He stopped between the men on his side and the guys on ours and us. "Do you think you're going to walk out of here alive, Whitlock?"

Jasper smiled just as a red beam appeared on Sergei's chest. _Dad was here._ "It'll be a good death. It just burns me that I won't be the one to do it."

Sergei looked confused by Jasper's statement but it was too late. Leah revealed herself and started firing. Someone pushed two guns in my hands and my handcuffs quickly removed. I aimed at Alice and started shooting. Her eyes widened and she took off, taking cover.

Sergei hesitated and by the time he could take the shot, his chest was blown out by a sniper. Jasper pulled his brother out of harm's way, while his men and I killed Alice's men. They were dropping them like flies around us. I had to get to Alice. I couldn't let her leave her alive.

"Okay?" I shouted to Leah while three guys were gunning for me. I took off, ducking and escaping their bullets.

"Got 'em!" She yelled back, meaning she had Jasper and Michael and they were safe.

I killed a few morons in my way and stole their guns from them. I got a knife from an asshole that almost shot me before he was taken down by a sniper. _Thanks, Dad._

At one point, I got pinned down. I had run out of guns and I needed to get out there and kill some more assholes and steal their weapons. I only had the knife and from my vantage point, I spotted Alice taking shots at Jasper's men before she shot Leah in her shoulder. When Leah went down, Jasper took over, almost shooting Alice in the fucking head. I was happy and pissed at him for that. I wanted to kill her myself. He and his guys moved to the ones pinning me down. Between their efforts and Dad's excellent sniper shots from outside, I was free to move. I took off, taking down the idiots who got in my way. I was armed and ready. I had two nine millimeters, the knife and an almost emptied AK-47. It would be enough to take on Alice with.

The shooting was dying down. Some of Alice's men along with Jasper's were dead. Who were left on Jasper's side was taking out the last of Alice's men. Sergei was dead and I still had two more fools standing in my way like they thought they were superheroes. It took me two bullets to the head to get them out of my way.

"Get out here, Alice!" I shouted. "There is no one else. You're all that's left, bitch! Get out here!"

She screamed and stared to fire. I took cover.

Good girl. Finish those bullets.

The shooting stopped but I knew Alice had to have something up her sleeve. Whether it was a small handgun or a knife, that bitch had something so I attacked her obsessed pride.

"Since your daddy's watching, I thought you'd want to make him proud by killing me for his viewing pleasure."

She laughed. "You think I'm stupid?" She spat. "As soon as I step out there, they are going to shoot."

We were close enough and the place had gone silent so we could hear each other perfectly well.

"No, they won't!" I said, hoping Jasper would order his men not to shoot Alice. She was mine. "This is between you and me. You said we would have a fight. I intend to make you keep your promise."

She laughed and then countered, "Like you'd fight fair."

"Would you?" I hit back.

She cackled manically. "Alright, Bella, let's have our fight. At least I'll finally be able to prove to daddy that I'm the best. I'm sure he's got some guys waiting to storm in here and kill you all so I've got nothing worry about. As soon as I kill you, the rest of them will die."

"Exactly, so let's do this."

There was no answer for a second and then Alice said, "Let's step out on three. We show what we got, and then we have ourselves a good fight to the death."

"Weapon of choice?" I asked.

"Our hands." She said happily. "It wouldn't be fair to give you a weapon now, would it, Bella?"

I chuckled. "Okay. On three."

I heard Jasper telling his guys to hold their fire. Alice and I counted simultaneously and when we got to three, the both of us stepped out from our hiding place. We stood a little distance from one another. She was looking me up and down with a grin I was itching to wipe off her face.

"I think I'm far better attired for this occasion than you, Sis," she said in a snarky tone as she took in my white blood splattered gown with the high slit.

I merely glanced at myself and then smirked. "Don't worry about it."

She grew serious. Guess she didn't like my answer. "We should disarm."

"I'm out." I lied.

"So am I." She lied with a grin.

She drew her gun as fast as I drew mine and then we were firing. I ducked behind some crates that were nearby and Alice went to my right. We fired at one another until she shouted she was out of bullets with a laugh.

"Are you hit?" she asked.

I did a quick check but I was good. No bullets in me. Sometimes with adrenaline pumping, you don't know you have been injured until it was too late at times.

"I'm good!"

"Fuck!"

Her exasperation made me laugh.

"Are we ready?" I asked. I was more than ready to end this.

No answer. So I knew she was on the move. The warehouse was well lit but there was no sign of her from where I thought she was hiding. But the way the hair on the back of my neck stood up, I knew the bitch was close.

Too close.

Suddenly Alice was on top of me. We went tumbling to the ground with her trying to jam her knife into my chest. I managed to get out from under her and land a kick in her chest hard enough to send her flying back. She fell but screamed like a banshee at the defeat and jumped to her feet, ready to attack me again. She ran to me, slamming her body into mine and I flipped us over and over again until I was on top of her. She tried to stab me in the side but only got away with slicing me there.

We parted, both of us breathing heavily as we planned our next attack. I didn't have all night to play with her and I knew she wanted to end this as much as I did. She wanted to be declared the winner by Aro. Then she would execute Jasper and his posse.

I wasn't about to let that happen.

She gave my dress the once over. "I guess I underestimated the dress, Sis."

I didn't answer her. I was waiting for her next move. Her eyes were searching for a weapon powerful enough to take me down and I knew she had found it behind me.

One of the dead guys on the ground had been holding a machete and Alice spotted it and wanted it.

I stepped to the left. She followed my movement while spouting nonsense about a future without me in it for Aro to gush over.

Like I wanted that punk's attention.

"He'll finally be able to admit that I'm the best with your death," she said in a delusional tone. "He's gonna see me as his savior."

We've now gone in a circle and she was finally near enough to grab the machete, which was the first thing she did with a triumphant laugh.

"Now," she said, pointing it at me after she threw away her knife. "Enough of the playing. You're dead, bitch."

She was poised to attack when I asked her, "Why didn't you just come after me? Why use my brother? Why get Aro to kill him?"

She laughed. "Oh yes! Your pathetic brother. I used him because I could. He was such a lovesick puppy. Daddy killed him because it was a means to an end. And maybe a little of revenge too for Charlie stealing his woman."

My mother. Jamie died, not just because of me, but because of the grudge Aro was carrying for Charlie taking my mother away from him. So she hadn't left Aro like we were led to believe. She was still involved. My mother was a traitor. She was still in Aro's life.

I would deal with her in time.

"Finished with the dumb questions?" Alice shouted.

I gave her a deadly look. I let the beast in me overtake me before making my move. "I'm finished… with you."

She took off running toward me, ready to attack. I threw my knife in the air and jumped up and kicked the handle with all my might, sending the blade flying right into Alice's chest. She flew back on impact and landed some feet away. I picked up a gun as I walked over to her trembling body while she gaped for air. I stood over her, looking into her eyes as they held nothing but shock. She tried to speak as she stared at me with hatred. I smirked at her as blood ran from her mouth. As I raised the gun, pointing it at her head, I pictured my brother, James, while Aro did the same thing to him.

Then I pulled the trigger.

I stepped away from the body, heading over to the nearest surveillance camera and looked right into it. "I'm coming for you," I said to the father I knew was watching.


	35. Between Father and Daughter

_**Aro, 2006**_

Her kick was something powerful. One blow from her foot sent me flying. I landed in the corner and spat blood. I glanced up at the magnificence that was my daughter and realized I made the right decision. I chose the right one. Her little sister, Alice, couldn't have compared to her. I remembered how easily Isabella had killed her and it further showed me that this was the best person to lead the Volturi bloodline into the future after I was dead and gone.

I knew it.

I knew I had hit the jackpot with Isabella.

Her mother and I truly believed in her. Renee had been right. Leaving her with Charlie, abandoning her, was the best thing to do for her. It helped morph her into the monster she was. One I was immensely proud of.

All I had to do now was survive her fury and get her away from Jasper. She needed to see the truth and how much greater she would be as a Volturi instead of a pathetic Swan.

She was walking over to me. I smiled at how glorious my little dark angel looked as she grabbed me up by the collar and began to punch me in the face. Every blow was as powerful and precise as the last.

Yes, my child. Become the dragon you were meant to be. You were a Volturi. And if I had to die to make you into the hellion you were meant to be, then so be it.

Just not yet.

I wanted to sit on the throne I had stolen back from our enemies before I drew my last fucking breath. I reached for my hidden knife since I was no longer tied to the chair and moved to stab her, but I only managed to slash her side. This sent Jasper into a rage. He pushed Isabella out of the way and attacked me.

 _ **Earlier that night, Jasper, 2006**_

The move was phenomenal. The guys around me had their mouths hanging open while Leah just scoffed and shook her head, saying, "What the fuck is she? Bionic?"

I had witnessed Bella do incredible things since I met her but this was just…

I mean, she threw her knife in the air and timed it perfectly to jump up and kick that shit into Alice's chest. Then she walked over to her and put the crazy bitch's lights out with a bullet to the head before gliding up to the surveillance camera and threatening Aro, whom I was sure, was watching like his fucked up daughter had said he was.

I still couldn't believe it. The ingeniousness of it. Aro had two kids. Both daughters, and both were homicidal maniacs. The only exception to me was that I was madly in love with the living one. He had planned this. I was sure of it. He had this planned since the beginning.

Even when he was blessed with these girls, Bella and Alice, he found a way to incorporate them in his twisted game. To me, Bella escaped it, well, slightly, because she was left behind and raised by Charlie Swan; a guy who fell in love with another crazy. Bella's mom, Renee. That bitch was my mom's obsessed fan. She wanted to be a mobster's wife so badly that when she couldn't have her way, she ran off and played snitch for the government. Then when Aro acted like he was interested in her again, although he really could have been and they were playing Charlie, Renee packed up and abandoned her kids.

Now, fast forward to this moment, and Aro was effectively wiping out my gang and my family so he could resurrect the Volturi name. And he had followers. I had killed some but there was more. These fucking traitors had smiled in my pop's face only to stab him in the back by supporting Aro.

All that was left of my family was my brother, Michael. He was here, lying in my arms, badly injured. All for what? For Aro's greed? Yeah, I knew we weren't angels. I knew our end would have come eventually, but not like this. Not by some fucking traitor's hand. I wasn't going to give Aro Volturi what he wanted. I wasn't going to die. I was going to kill that motherfucker.

"We need to get him some help," Leah grumbled, coughing.

"You too," I said, pulling my semi conscious brother closer to my chest.

"I'm good," Leah said. She was so stubborn. She needed medical attention. I have heard of motherfuckers who got shot in non fatal areas on their bodies and still died. I wasn't about to lose Leah. Edward would kill me with his bare hands.

"You're not." I argued.

She ignored me, pulling herself to her feet with a groan. She was in pain but she was trying to ignore that shit so we could finish what we started. She checked her guns to see how much ammunition she had left.

"What next?" she asked.

"You get medical attention."

Leah scoffed. "Fuck that. What are we doing next?"

Bella came over to us, joining in on the conversation. Her eyes were cold and her tone left no room for argument. "What Jasper said," she said in an icy tone. "You get medical attention. This is where it ends for you."

Leah was shaking her head no. Bella was unrelenting. "You're of no use to me right now if you're injured. Going with us will only get you killed. I don't think you or Edward would want that." Leah looked concerned and a little hesitant at the mention of Edward then she shook it off.

"He knows what I do and what needs to be done," Leah said.

"Well, I beg to differ," Bella countered just as Rosalie came walking into the warehouse.

"We've gotta go," she said, shouldering her rifle as she stopped beside Bella.

"What about the 'party' Alice promised?" Bella asked her, making her sister look back at Alice's dead body and then at us with a sinister smile.

"That party has been cancelled."

Damn these girls worked fast. All the goons Aro and Alice had waiting to eliminate us if we walked out of the warehouse alive were dead. When?

"How?" I asked.

Rosalie glanced at me with a smile while I continued to hold Michael in my arms. "We killed them while you guys were taking care of things in here," she said. "Now, let's get out of here. I can't say anything else in here."

Bella and I helped my brother to his feet and walked out behind Rosalie and Leah. There was an entire team of operatives waiting for us. All of them were clad in black and carrying army issued weapons.

"What's going on?"I asked Bella.

"Dad's plan B," she said as we walked by the group. These guys worked with Charlie Swan. The guy had a lot of pull. My guys were lined up and once I handed off Michael to the guys Bella told me to with a promise to be right back, she walked me over to the men. Rosalie was talking to them.

I came to stop behind her. I heard them repeating what Rosalie just told them in disbelief.

"What do you mean we can leave?" One guy asked. "As in you're gonna shoot us in the back as soon as we walk away?"

"No," Bella said. "She means you can go. Get out of here now. Your alliance with the Whitlocks ends here. But if I catch wind of any you speaking about tonight to anyone, you won't have to worry about prison time 'cause you'll be dead. I'll kill everything you love before I find you and kill you too."

She stepped away after saying this, leaving me, the guys, and Rosalie in stunned silence.

"What the hell did she just say?" A gruff voice said from behind me. I spun around, coming face-to-face with Charlie Swan.

Up close he wasn't what I expected. He looked almost too young to have three grown kids. He looked more like a rock star than a CIA agent with his tatted arms and pierced ears. But this was Bella's dad. Aside from the fact that she was biologically Aro's kid, her dark eyes shared the same depth as her dad, Charlie's did. Looking at them both for too long could make you feel like you were in a fucking trance. I had to shake my head and remember where the fuck I was and what was coming up next to get out of it.

"She said she'd kill these guys if they snitched," Rosalie told her father.

He kept his eyes locked on me while he answered Rosalie. "Get Paul and Sam over here, they'll handle these guys." He gave my guys a cunning smirk and tipped his imaginary hat them, saying, "Thank you for your service, gentlemen." Then he turned his attention back to me and said with the same smirk on his face, "Mr. Whitlock, a word?" He stepped away and I followed. Once we were out of everyone's earshot, Charlie stopped and stared at me. It felt like a stare down or some sort of interrogation by the intensity in his eyes only.

I hated to say it, but I felt a little intimidated by the man standing in front of me.

"You kept her alive," he said it more like an observation than a compliment. "My daughter can be wild when she goes off like this." He was describing the way Bella took down our enemies earlier.

"Why would I let anything happen to her?" I questioned with an edge to my tone. I wanted Charlie to know I wasn't afraid of him. Even if there was an underlining fear lingering just beneath the surface I wasn't about to punk out and admit that shit to his face. I never given anyone an edge over me and I wasn't about to start now. I don't care how much I loved his daughter.

He sighed and chuckled deeply. "Yeah, I noticed you have this thing about wanting to protect her, but do you understand her?" Was he trying to intimidate me with his knowledge of Bella's shortcomings or her monster?

"I can relate," I said confidently. "I got some dark things riding with me when I go into situations like this too."

Charlie's eyes lit up before he covered it with a calm expression. "Bella calls it her monster."

"Like I said, I can relate."

"What about your family?" He switched, taking the focus off of Bella and put it on Michael. "Since you know how this will end if you don't die tonight, you sure you don't want to cut another deal and run?"

It was my time to chuckle. It was well played. He knew about my deal and he might be a hardcore CIA agent but at the core of it, he was just a dad looking out for his little girl. And he didn't see her having a future with the bad boy. So he was trying to talk me into running.

"I'm not going to run. I'm going to see this shit through. I've come too far. Are you ready for where Bella and I are going to take it because I can guarantee you it won't be within the boundaries of the law. Some serious shit is about to go down and only one side can walk away from this. It'll either be me or Aro. Are you ready for that, Charlie?"

"He's right," Bella said, making herself known. I glanced at her noticing she had changed out of the blood splattered dress and was now dressed in a black combat outfit like the rest of Charlie's team. "Are you ready for where this is going, Dad?"

Charlie turned his attention to his daughter. "I'm ready. Just remember every action comes with a consequence and for you to take part in this, it'll come with a heavy price. Are you ready to pay it?"

Bella smiled. "Are you asking if I have been contacted?"

What were they talking about?

Charlie chuckled but it was forced. He was getting angry. "Were you?"

"So what if I was?" Bella retorted calmly.

What was going on?

"Are you telling me you're willing to pay the price for him?" He pointed at me like I was a piece of garbage. I wanted to kick his teeth in but I was more interested in what they were talking about.

Rosalie came over and joined in on the intense conversation going on between Bella and her dad. "Dad, you know if Honey Bee is going to do this, she has to have a plan. And it has to be a foolproof one." Rosalie looked at Bella silently begging her sister to back her up.

Bella was staring at her father coldly while Charlie turned his anger on Rosalie. "You know about this?"

"I know my sister," Rosalie said with a wink at Bella. "And as much it pains me I know she made the right decision."

What decision? What did Bella do?

Charlie glared at his daughters and then gave me a death glare. He looked like he wanted to kick my teeth in and ground his girls for life before he huffed and finally said, "Fine, Bella. I'll support you no matter what."

Her hardened look softened a bit and I heard a soft voice I hadn't expected to hear coming from her since it sounded so innocent as she said, "Thanks, daddy."

I stared in disbelief as the big bad guy who looked like he wanted to rip my head off a while ago was dissolved into a proud father as he ruffled Bella's hair and said, "Get ready baby girl, we're heading out."

He walked away with Rosalie following closely behind him but not before she winked at me.

What kind of family was this? They fought and looked ready to kill each other one minute and were the closest thing the next.

"Stop gawking after my dad and acting like you're any different," Bella said, bringing me back from my momentary shock.

"Yeah, I love and want to kill my little brother sometimes, I admit. But you guys make us look like saints!"

Bella cracked a smile. Then she did something I didn't think she would do in front of her dad's team, since they were all, well, they weren't criminals like me. She kissed me. Right on the damn lips.

She pulled back with a sigh and a small smile. "Thanks for making it." Then she grabbed up my shirt collar and yanked me down so I was eye level with her. Her eyes raged like fire when she said, "Don't ever try to sacrifice yourself again in my presence, do you hear me?" I moved to pull away because as much as I loved her, I wasn't about to be her little bitch. So the manhandling shit was going to be nipped in the bud right here, right now. But Bella held on strong. "Do you hear me?" she asked, demanding a formable response. I knew she was pissed when I told her to run earlier when we were in the truck with Alice.

"Let me the fuck go," I said through clenched teeth. "And stop trying my patience. I'm not your little bitch."

She smirked and let go. I towered over her and watched as the little minx eyeing me lustfully. I couldn't believe how fast she changed the subject and thought it was the right time to be having those thoughts. "I don't think this is the right time to be thinking about that."

Bella's smirk grew and she winked at me and said, "Can't help but find my defiant boyfriend extremely attractive right now."

I scoffed at her. "You're sick."

"So?" She didn't even deny that shit. "You love me anyways."

"You're lucky I'm crazy about you," I said with a smile as I pulled her close and kissed her again. What would happen now?

"What happens now?"

"What are you thinking?" she asked.

"I know you were warning Aro in there when you looked into the camera and spoke," I said.

"Well, I'm going for him. He has to pay for what he's done."

"Good. We're on the same page with that."

Bella took my hand and led me back over to Charlie's crew. I noticed she wasn't shying away from holding my hand. She was doing that shit proudly. She only let go so I could go to my brother's side. He and Leah would be heading out together. I met this real big guy named Sam Uley. He worked with Charlie and was from Forks according to Rosalie. She said Michael would be safe with him and his team. Sam's crew was two other rough looking Native American guys named Embry and Jacob.

Jacob seemed to know the family well and Rosalie called him their little brother from another mother. Good. Because to how chummy he got with Bella when he greeted her, if I heard he had some crush on my girlfriend I would have to kill him. I didn't give a shit that he looked like a pro wrestler. I would cut his ass down to size.

"Make it through this and you'll be seeing a lot more of Jake later on," Rosalie said with a wink. I wanted to ask what she meant but Bella was ready to go and Charlie said it was time to clear the area and let his team do what they came to do.

I don't know what that was. And apparently I wouldn't be privy to the information. So I said my goodbyes to Leah and Michael. I promised I would see them again and they were loaded in the back of a black van and taken away.

"Sam's ex-army and a doctor," Bella told me. "Don't worry. He'll take care of them. I wouldn't trust anybody else with them. Well, besides Carlisle." She smiled a little and then walked off. I followed her.

"Where to?" I said, coming along side her.

"Aro's."

Charlie and Rosalie joined us. "Have you thought about what you're going to do?" Rosalie asked her.

Bella smiled and I liked it. This was going to be bloody. It was what I had been waiting for. And It was good to have someone by my side who understood.

"Jasper and I are going to walk up to the front door, ring the bell, and then say hello to whoever answers," Bella said. "Simple."

Rosalie looked at the two of us and then said, "Simple? Yeah right. You two fuckers are perfect for each other. You're both crazy."

Charlie shook his head. "Banner will be coming with a team. FBI wants in on this. So he will be here in all his glory."

"Good," Bella said. "Jasper and I want to talk to him too."

I smiled at how involved I was in this equation.

We got into Charlie's black SUV. Rosalie was driving and Charlie was in the back with me. "What do you got?" he asked, pertaining to weapons.

I showed him my two glocks. He gave me ammunition. "You'll need something with more of a bang though. I got it covered in the back. Now I don't exactly feel good about giving you a weapon, seeing as you are a criminal, but these are my daughters. So you understand, right?"

"Yeah."

I did. Charlie should have arrested me on the spot as soon as the shooting stopped at the warehouse. I should be heading to jail right now. Not to avenge my pop's death. But here I was, walking into what would be the fight of my life and Charlie entrusted me to help him make sure his daughters survived this assault.

"Where are we going?" Charlie asked.

I recognized where so I answered, "To where Aro views as the king's castle. Where he can hide an army. My penthouse." I looked at Bella in the mirror. Her eyes were on me. "You know there will be men on almost every floor, right?"

She nodded.

"It won't be a few," I pointed out. "Aro gathered a lot of traitors for his cause."

"I realize that," Bella said coolly. "Are you scared?"

I smiled at her. "Just getting you ready for the fun."

"Both of you need to be psych evaluated," Rosalie said to Bella and me.

Charlie chuckled. "Maybe later they will, baby girl."

Bella smirked at her Dad and sister and then looked out her window. She removed her seatbelt and asked Charlie for weapons. He passed two nine millimeters, a .38 revolver, a 22 mini handgun which Bella pushed in her boot. He also gave her two hunter knives that she pushed into the places for them on her body holster. Finally, he gave her a semi automatic and ammunition.

"Is that enough?" I asked them.

Bella laughed. It was genuine and a little unhinged. "The rocket launcher went with Rosalie's outfit more than mine. Besides I need to stay mobile. You'll see why."

Remembering how fast she tend to move both in Mexico and the times I have seen her in action since she came back in my life, I got why she wanted mostly handguns instead of high powered weapons. Those she would steal from a victim in there.

A Ducati motorcycle rode up next to us as we raced down the highway getting closer to my home. The rider stayed in line with our SUV. The person looked too huge to be on the bike, but they were dodging it in and out of other passing vehicles like nothing.

"My ride is here," Bella said. "Ready for it, Rosie?"

"I got you, Honey Bee," Rosalie said before I watched my girlfriend open the door and the bike came closer and Bella jumped on the back. The door stayed open while we thundered down the highway. The rider moved to get off the bike and Bella took over as soon as the huge person jumped into our SUV. Bella lagged the bike a little so she would be in line with me in the backseat. I pulled the window down and she smiled at me. It said everything. I love you. See you there. Be careful. Get ready.

Bella revved her engine and went up to the front while I pulled my window back up. Jake, who now took Bella's place in the passenger's seat, took off the helmet and gave it to her before closing his door. I watched as she pulled it on her head and then sped off ahead of us. Rosalie stepped on it, keeping up with Bella.

"They're amazing, aren't they?" Charlie said like a proud papa. "At first I was scared when they wanted to join me in the service and I'm still terrified but I've got some fucking awesome kids, don't I?"

"You do," I said in amazement as I watched the woman who held my heart, and the only one who ever will, speed down the road ready to lead us into the final battle.

Once we were near my building, Rosalie stopped the truck and Charlie and I got out. I was told what to do. It would be my role until I could get in the building. Bella and I would be ending this, but she was taking the lead. I would be helping her from a vantage point with her dad since I had experience with snipers. Charlie said he didn't want to know why. I wasn't about to tell him either unless I was under oath in a fucking court room.

We would be taking up position on the roof of the building across from mine in my final act alongside Charlie before Rosalie took my place.

Charlie said CIA and FBI and even cops have used it before to try and run surveillance on me. But my penthouse was too high for them to see directly into since my building was taller than this one. But right now it would serve us good to keep the heat off Bella. We could kill whoever tried to hurt her on the floors leading up to my penthouse. Jake would be heading into the line of fire with her.

Rosalie would take my position after she helped Bella make an entrance. I didn't know how she was going to help Bella though.

Then I found out when Charlie and I took our first position. We all had earpieces so I had no problem listening on what was being said between them. Fox One was Charlie. Fox two was Rosalie and Honey Bee was Bella. Lone Wolf was Jacob Black and I was Ghost.

Bella was talking to Rosalie, telling her to take the shot.

"Fox two, take it!" Bella shouted.

"Got it, Honey Bee!" Rosalie said and then they lit up the fucking parking garage.

Apparently, Bella wasn't joking about the rocket launcher because Rosalie just took a shot with it sending it flying right into the parking garage.

"Lone Wolf, get with Honey Bee!" Charlie said.

I watched through the scope of my weapon while pushing my jealousy aside as Bella picked up Jake and they rode into the building. Right into the fucking flames!

"Get ready, Ghost!" Bella said to me.

"Got you." I answered.

I couldn't believe I was doing this. I felt like I was on an operation or mission or whatever Bella and her little crime fighting family called this instead of barging in there and just shooting motherfuckers. But I flipped on my thermal scope on the .50 caliber sniper I was steadying and took aim. Charlie acted as my spotter since the range on my weapon was greater than his at the moment.

"Ready," he said. "Fire."


	36. Between Father and Daughter II

_**Bella, 2006**_

With Aro's words burned into my mind, I lost it and attacked him. Was he deranged? Did he actually think I would join forces with him? That I would want to take up a place by his side as his daughter and as a Volturi? I couldn't even pretend to be interested for the benefit of the moment. I just wanted to rip him to shreds.

I landed a solid kick to his chest, sending him and the chair he was tied to, flying back. He landed in a corner and I rushed over, ready to kill him.

In my rage, all I could picture was Jamie and how this insect took him from me. Now he wanted me to be a part of his twisted dynasty. With every hit I gave him, I could see Jamie in my mind being shot by Aro over and over again.

Being face-to-face with Aro had made things feel worse. Listening to him spew his nonsense about regaining the entitled power the Volturi once held made me sick to my stomach. I should be feeling that way from all the blood I have shed since this night began, but that shit didn't bother me as much as the deranged man who was my biological father and also my brother's killer.

How fucked up was my life? My real father killed my brother and I was here to kill him for killing my brother. I had promised to avenge Jamie's death and the night wouldn't pass without me doing so.

Everyone else in the room, Jasper, Aro himself, Rosie, and Jane were all unaware of the turmoil my mind was going through. It felt like it was about to explode while Aro talked about how unworthy Jasper's family was of what they had. And how happy he was that the power was being returned to the rightful owners. Him, and hopefully, me. The Volturis.

I wanted to laugh at him because he sounded like a whiny bitch with a grudge. And if I was so intent on ripping his face off, I probably would have laughed at the bastard.

Aro spat blood and then looked up at me with a dazed look on his face. Jane was trying to get away from Jasper, but I knew he wasn't letting her go anywhere as neither of them would be leaving here alive. Rosie was waiting on my next move.

I walked over to Aro. He had a sickening smile on his face. I dragged him up and held him by the collar of his shirt with one hand and punched the son of a bitch in the face with the other before hitting him in the gut. I made sure it hurt like a motherfucker too. I was giving it my all. But the dazed, deluded happy look on his face wasn't going away and that shit irked me so I continued to hit him.

And he let me.

A part of me was wondering why when he caught me off guard, surprising me with a knife and moved to stab me. I jumped away fast enough to only get a nasty slash on my side.

When Jasper, Jake and Rosie witnessed this, Jasper handed Jane off to them and rushed over to me and Aro, pushing me out of the way and attacking Aro like a wild animal. I noticed the look of satisfaction on the bastard's face. What was Aro up to?

 _ **Earlier that night**_

I picked Jake up and Rosie drove off. She would be replacing Jasper as Dad's partner as soon as she carried out the little surprise party for the goons waiting in the parking garage. I rode behind her truck, taking it slow. We were all in constant contact with each other, letting one another know what we were up to. I knew Jasper was freaked out by it since he was used to leading not following, but he had to oblige so he could make it out of this alive. His deal was a complicated one with Dad's bosses.

Mine was no walk in the park either. With all the laws I have broken since the start of this fiasco, if I wanted my own deal with them to work, I had to make sure Jasper made it out alive.

He wasn't the only one with penitence to pay. And mine wasn't even completely my fault. I was just a pawn in a bigger game. But if you were the government, would you trust the bad guy's kid? Especially one as lethal as me?

I was what my new handler and Charlie and Rosie's supervisor CIA Director Demetri Collins, called a lethal weapon. I was to be kept close, and unleashed when necessary but never fully trusted.

According to him, as soon as I completed my mission and reveal all that needed to be uncovered as well as bring in Jasper Whitlock alive, I would officially become a CIA agent. One of those special agents you call upon when you wanted something to be done discreetly and efficiently without making too much noise or causing too much ramification.

In other words, I would be a killer. Just like I have always been. He didn't state how long I would be on this assignment for and not even my dad or my sister knew the details. They just got wind that Collins and I had spoken. I knew I had to tell them. But I had yet to.

If I made it out of this alive, I would and be ready for the war Dad was going to unleash on me for making the deal with his boss.

Rosie was coming up on Jasper's building. I knew he and Dad were in place. I stopped the bike.

"Ready?" Jake asked in an almost giddy voice. I swore the punk lived for the excitement.

"Are you?" I threw back at him. I didn't even have to ask. I knew he was. Jake was a good soldier. He would help me rip through these idiots like a hot knife through butter.

Jake was an ex-Marine and too damn good at killing. Dad got him out of the army after a bad injury, but while he was home, he couldn't sit still and found himself getting into a lot of trouble. Dad considered all of us family because he and Jake's dad were army buddies and good friends, although both men were on the opposite side of the law. Jake's dad ran a very powerful gang right off the Indian reservation in Forks. It was a family inheritance you could say, dating back to Billy Black's grandfather. But the men remained friends even though Dad was in the CIA. To me, information and want of connections kept the handcuffs off of Billy Black most of the time.

Billy wanted Jake in the business but he wasn't fully committed. So Dad stepped in and pulled a couple major strings and got Jake into the CIA with him and Rosie.

Jake was like a brother to me. I was taking a risk having him back me up right now, but he wasn't about to leave me stranded. I know him.

Rosie stopped directly in front of the entrance and I leaned forward on the bike, revving it. I was ready to go. She fired her rocket launcher and I watched her 'gift' light up the parking garage.

Jake howled in excitement behind me and I rode off. I closed off my senses as we rode in. Jake jumped off the back of the bike and I drove it into some idiots who weren't on fire. Jake was putting screaming motherfuckers out of their misery while I got my guns out and didn't stop firing and reloading and firing again until Jake and I were in the elevator.

"Did you see those guys flying away?" He was always giddy in a gunfight. The smile on his face was distracting. His pearly white teeth were shining to a little too brightly for me.

"Would you quit smiling?" I rebuked while readying myself for the next round of assault we would encounter once the elevator stopped on Jasper's floor. I had a feeling the rest of the party was waiting there. This wasn't the end. Aro was smart. There had to be more but I was showing him I wasn't afraid of his fake army filled with nothing but power hungry traitors and murderous psychos. There were just two of us in the building and some many men were dead already. I was not to be messed with.

"Why shouldn't I be happy, Bells?" Jake said, using his nickname for me. He has been calling me that since we were kids. He said my laughter sounded like bells. I didn't get it. I wasn't a happy kid. But Jake could always find happiness in the silliest things so I went with it. His positivity was that infectious. "We're getting rid of bad guys! Now, didn't you see those bodies going flying around us?"

"Yeah. I saw it." I said dryly. I was watching the numbers count up to Jasper's penthouse. We were getting closer. Jake reloaded his weapons and we checked the bulletproof vests we were wearing. We were good.

"It wasn't Rosie." He stated. Jasper was a damn good shot. I was impressed how he sent those guys flying before they could shoot Jake or me.

"No. It was Jasper."

"I'm not going to ask why he's good with a sniper," Jake decided.

Duh! He was an arms dealer. I think he would know a thing or two about weapons. "It's better not to." I agreed.

The final ding came and the doors began to open. Jake and I moved to opposite ends of the elevator. He got down and I jumped up, holding onto the panels of the roof like a spider. I had scoped out this elevator on more than one occasion while being here with Jasper to know where all of the good hiding spots were for a small person like me.

As anticipated, a barrage of gunshots was fired into the small space. I wasn't about to let them get Jake, so I ripped off a grenade I had on my vest, removed the key and threw that shit out there on them. It went off and Jake and I exited the elevator guns blazing.

We would be joined by reinforcement soon. Dad's team was on the way and Jasper would be joining me shortly. I was here to kill Vladimir Chekov. He wasn't needed. Aro and Jane were to be kept alive, probably for Intel but Jasper and I weren't about to let that happen. We had other plans for them.

Dad and Rosie were taking out any added competition heading up to the penthouse. But Rosie's .50 caliber sniper wouldn't be able reach inside of Jasper's penthouse. The building they were in, across from this one, wasn't high enough for her to fire direct shots into the place.

It was a pity. It would make things easier.

I leapt on Jake in one move taking him down with me to save him getting shot and the bullets flew past us, lodging into the wall. One of those shots would have hit him in the head if I hadn't acted. And I wasn't about to lose him to one of these bastards.

"Fox One, we're taking a lot of heat!" I said into my earpiece. "Need those reinforcements!"

"On the way, Honey Bee!" Jasper replied for Dad.

"Copy, Honey Bee?" Dad asked.

"I hear you both!" I answered before returning fire.

It was hard to get through the men but Jake and I were taking down as many of them as we could. Some were injured, but most were dead. The heat was getting heavier. We needed that help now if we wanted to get to Aro who I was sure was holed up inside Jasper's place somewhere.

Jake and I made it inside the foyer of the penthouse. We were making a move to go further in with Jake leading the way, when I got pounced on from behind by one of Aro or Vladimir's goons. He yanked me back and slammed me into the wall opposite him. I swiftly dodged his fist as it went flying past my face and into the wall.

I was about to retaliate when he was shot in the head and his limp body slid to the floor in front of me to reveal Jasper standing there with his gun smoking.

I sighed in relief, but I could really kiss him right now for showing up when he did. It meant Jake and mine's reinforcement had arrived. Both Dad's team and Jasper were here. Although Jasper was here for an entirely different reason from Dad's team.

Jasper's reason was the same as mine. Weed out Aro Volturi and kill the bastard for what he had done to us. There would be no plea deals or special treatment in exchange for information for that motherfucker. He was going straight to hell.

Jasper pulled me up from the ground, slamming my body into his. "Glad I'm here?" he asked with a suggestive smirk.

I rolled my eyes at the moment he had chosen to flirt with me, although I admired the bravado of it, but I pushed him away nonetheless. "Yeah," I said, rolling my eyes and then cocking my gun, signaling that I was ready to get back into the action. "Fucking ecstatic."

Jasper chuckled.

We found our way to Jake, and together, we all edged our way further into Jasper's penthouse. Watching him in action as he took down those who betrayed him was a sight to behold. But this was no time to think about how hot it was watching him become this monster on a mission right in front of me.

Jake and some other team members had branched off taking down henchmen as they go further into the place. Everything in sight was riddled with bullets.

Vladimir Chekov was in my line of sight.

Perfect.

"Fox One, got a target on lock," I said to Dad.

"Check," he replied. "Identify."

"Vladimir."

Dad didn't even hesitate. "Take the shot."

I smiled.

Vladimir was in the open. I knew he was fair game for anyone on Dad's team, myself included, and even Jasper but they were all holding fire. They barked at him to drop his weapon and show his hands, but he wasn't complying. Vladimir was protesting and cursing us. He called us every colorful name in the book that he could think of. And the motherfucker didn't stutter until I made my presence known.

"Fuck you pigs!" He shouted as I stood and walked out of my hiding place with Jasper standing behind me.

Vladimir stuttered and shut up for a second before turning his tirade on Jasper. Leaving the rest of us in the room forgotten as he focused on the only Whitlock he thought was still breathing.

"You traitor!" He sneered at Jasper.

He had his gun in his hand by his side and I was watching him closely. I was going to kill him but I was allowing Jasper to have a second to say whatever he wanted to this bastard. But if Vladimir moved that gun an inch higher in Jasper or any of my dad's team's direction, I was going to blow him away.

"You murderer!" Jasper growled back. I knew he was talking about his father. Vladimir's son and enforcer, Sergei, would not have made a move on Nicky Whitlock without his father's knowledge.

"We will win this," Vladimir said like a promise to Jasper.

Jasper scoffed at him. "Is that what Aro told you?"

"Even if I die…" Vladimir spat with a hiss in our direction. "The Chekovs will win. See you in hell!"

He raised his gun in Jasper's direction and no one waited. We all fired at him. Vladimir Chekov went down.

"It's almost over," Jasper and I nodded.

Aro was next.

When the smoke cleared, I was disappointed and pissed off. Aro and Jane weren't here, and I was sure the fucker would be.

Jasper and I left the scene in his former home and went downstairs because Rosie said Banner was heading to Jasper's building with scores of FBI agents which further pissed me off. I wasn't ready to take Jasper in yet. We had to find Aro and Jane first. I wanted to give him the satisfaction of ridding the world of that bastard along with me.

We made it downstairs and so far, so good. FBI was on the way, but they weren't here yet. It was Dad's guys, and the local police. The couple of cops who were here were so afraid of Jasper, he just walked right by them. They didn't even attempt to talk to him. The other suits were from the CIA. A few nodded at me as I passed and I knew they were on the orders of Dad's boss, Demetri Collins.

I knew they were keeping an eye on me. They had to make sure I didn't take Jasper and run.

As part of my deal with Mr. Demetri Collins, or Mr. D as I would call him from now on, I had to _personally_ turn Jasper in. I guess Mr. D wanted to remind me which side of the law I was supposed to be on. So I had to arrest Jasper myself.

Jasper would have to do time in prison if he wanted to continue to protect what was left of his family. And if I wanted to protect him, I had to work for Dad's boss on a special ops team for a while after this assignment was over.

"The FBI is coming," Jasper said, making it painfully aware to me. "I'll have to go with them."

I didn't answer him right away because I spotted Jake. He was beckoning me over to a black GMC SUV he was standing next to.

"Not yet," I said to Jasper, grabbing his hand and dragging him along.

"Where are we going?"

I didn't answer. I just kept pulling him behind me like an insolent child.

When we got up to Jake, I noticed the toothy grin on his face and knew it couldn't be good.

"What did you do?"

It was the only thing I could say since I knew Jake was a troublemaker.

"I got you two a present," Jake said, smiling at us both. "Come on, hop in."

He jumped in the driver's seat with a shit eating grin on his face.

"What the hell?" Jasper asked while Jake watched us. "Are we going somewhere? Bella, you know how things are supposed to go down for me. I'm supposed to…"

I didn't let him finish. "Get in." I told him, pushing him toward the passenger side of the truck. "I trust Jake and you will learn to too. Get in."

Jasper went to the front seat and I opened the back door ready to climb in when I saw something that made my heart both swell with joy and rage.

Aro and Jane were tied up and gagged and in the backseat. Both of them looked at me. Aro looked pleased and Jane looked worried.

I chuckled and jumped in, slamming the door shut just as Dad said in my earpiece, "Like my present, Honey Bee?"

"Very much, Fox One. Very much." I smiled.

Jake drove off, passing the FBI marked SUVs that had just pulled up outside of Jasper's building. I spotted Banner climbing out of the one in front and I laughed now as we drove by with his real boss, Aro, bound and gagged beside me.

Banner was no doubt here to put on a show about taking down powerful criminals when the slimy bastard was one himself.

Jane was making muffled noises and trying to pull against her binds. It was no use. Jake was too good at bounding things. I swore the guy had a knack for bondage.

I gave her an evil grin and she settled down. A motorcycle started to follow us and I knew who it was.

Jane tried mumbling through her gag to get my attention. Jasper's face was stone cold in the front seat and Jake looked like he was ready for the party to begin. I didn't even bother to look Jane's direction as Jake drove. I just looked out the window.

This was my show now and let's see how much Aro was going to like being face-to-face with his wicked creation.


	37. Aro and Jane

_**Jasper, 2006**_

I watched her as she looked out the window with a devilish smirk playing on her lips.

There was a motorcycle following us. It had to be Rosalie. Whatever was about to go down, I knew these girls were going to be involved in it one hundred percent.

And they had every right to. They lost their brother to corruption and Aro's foolishness. I didn't know James Swan as well as his family did, but being in love with his sister made me care a little more than I normally would about an FBI agent dying.

Besides, for the short period of time James and I had known each other, he wasn't all that bad. He could be an okay guy when he wasn't annoying with the fact that he was a Fed and proud of it. We had made a deal out of necessity because he knew some serious shit was about to go down on his end, shit he couldn't prevent from happening and he turned to me for help.

I needed him because I thought I could save my brother from the business. It had already caught me and I was fine with being the dangerous son of a bitch I was, I just didn't want it for Michael despite him being in love with the glamour of gangster life. He was just being a dumb kid and I would save him whether he liked it or not.

So James and I found common ground. We both had family to save.

Then Aro fucked it up and Bella came into the picture.

As I sat here though, I was beginning to see that this was Aro's intent all along.

He killed James to lure Bella out. I bet he had been checking up on her all her life. If Banner was in his back pocket, then some of Bella's assignments had to have been Aro's doing. He had been training her for this moment. It had to be why Alice was so jealous of her.

Bella was who Aro preferred. She was the favored daughter. The perfect monster.

I glanced at Bella again. Damn. She got a bad deal when it came to parents.

She looked out the window while purposely ignoring Jane's mumblings. She seemed content and that was not a good thing. I knew she was ready to cause serious damage to these two fucks and I couldn't wait to see it.

We sped down the road with Jake taking familiar turns. I smiled. He was heading to one of my warehouses. At least I could get to use the spot for one last thing before they hauled my ass to jail.

Jake took the final turn taking us right to the warehouse. We slowed to a stop in front of it. I looked back at Aro, who was perfectly calm, while his little girlfriend was freaking out.

"Does this scene look familiar?" I said to Aro. His eyes snapped to mine and he gave me a hateful glare while Bella looked between us quickly catching on.

This was similar to where her brother died so it was only fitting we took his killers to somewhere like this.

"It's fitting," she said, opening her door to get out of the back. I thought she would just order them out, but Bella had other ideas.

As soon as she climbed out the back, she dragged Jane along with her. I got out of the front and opened the back door, dragging Aro out and dropping his ass to the ground with a thud. He let out a groan and I smiled down at him.

Jane was mumbling while she seemingly argued with Bella from behind her gag, only to have Bella punch her in the gut making her hunch over in pain. Bella pulled her up by her hair just as Rosalie pulled up and jumped off her bike. She stormed right over to Jane while pulling her helmet off only to slap Jane across the face with it.

"Oh!" Jake laughed as he got out of the truck. "Damn, girls! Let's get this party started."

Jake found his way around the truck and grabbed Aro up by the hair, pulling him to his feet. "Is he off limits?" He asked me with a smile.

"No." I shrugged. "Have a go," I said to Jake, giving him permission to kick Aro's ass.

He didn't waste any time giving Aro a few good hits in the gut making the son of a bitch fall to his knees and I wasted no time in beating the bastard while he was down; kicking him in the face, busting up his mouth and nose.

There. That was what I wanted to see. Blood.

Jake kicked him in the balls causing him to double over with a loud groan.

I took a step back and watched the scene unfold in front of me. We hadn't even gotten them inside the warehouse yet and the party was already in full swing.

Jake was beating Aro with his bare fists and I didn't know how much more Aro could take. Jake was built like a fucking giant!

I glanced over at Jane while she hollered from behind her gag with Bella and Rosalie taking turns hitting her. I watched my girlfriend and her sister double teaming Jane while they taught her their deadly lesson.

You couldn't fuck with their family and get away with it.

I remembered the day on the beach when Bella attacked her own dad, Charlie for saving Alice from Carmen. If she had known what she knew now, that Alice was a devious little bitch and her sister who had only infiltrated her family's life and eventually played a role in getting James killed, she would have killed her then and there.

So many things would have been different if the both of us had known the truth from the start.

If I had known I was saving Aro's daughter in Mexico, would I have done it?

I looked over at her in her fiery mood as she beat Jane's ass, and I smiled.

Yeah, I still would have saved the little hellion.

Bella being Aro's daughter didn't change how I felt about her. I was in love with the beautiful disaster she was and I think I always would be.

Rosalie's hard blow to Jane's face and how it echoed brought me out of my thoughts in time to see Jane stagger toward Bella only to get a swift kick to the chest sending her flying back into Rosalie's waiting fists.

It was time to head inside. Things couldn't be finished out here. There was more I wanted to do to Aro before I killed him.

"Let's take it inside!" I ordered everyone. They actually listened to me and stopped.

I started toward the doors of the warehouse and Rosalie and Bella followed, dragging Jane behind them like a rag doll. Jake took Aro; pulling the bastard by his hair. I stopped in front of the doors, unlocked it and slid one side of them open then jumped out of the way just in time to witness Rosalie holding Jane up and Bella stepping back and then making a short run for it.

She jumped up and landed a powerful kick to Jane's chest, sending her flying into the warehouse where she landed and then slid across the floor like a piece of wood.

They were not playing around. The sisters laughed a little and when Bella caught Aro gazing at her, she stepped up to him and Jake.

"Hi, Daddy," she said with an evil grin on her face.

Jake held Aro for his friend and then Bella started in on him; punching him repeatedly in the face by the door while Jake laughed at her actions and cheered her on.

Rosalie and I had to become the voices of reasons when we suggested tying Jane and Aro to chairs instead of simply killing them. There were things I wanted to know before Aro Volturi died for his treachery and betrayal.

Bella and Jake didn't stop their fun right away, but they eventually listened.

I could have stepped in and physically stop them, but damn if it wasn't fascinating watching Bella.

She was like an avenging angel.

Her fists and feet held all the power and Jane nor Aro had very little time to rest when it came to their beating. Bella and Jake were with filled with enough rage and energy to make this last for a while.

But I had questions.

Aro was going to die here but I needed to know why he did what he did before he drew his last breath.

Yeah, I knew all the points. He wanted to raise his family back to power. He wanted to conquer the Whitlocks; who had taken his scheming ass into their lives and made the punk one of our own. Grandfather and Pop had treated the son of a bitch like blood and this was how he repaid us?

No. It wasn't going to go down like this. I had to know why the motherfucker did it.

I almost felt like a bitch for wanting answers, but I needed to know the truth.

Then I would kill him.

We got Aro and Jane tied to chairs. Rosalie and Bella hardly let up on Jane. They were constantly and strategically hitting her. They were a good team. Watching them work together, you could see that these two were truly related. They understood one another and could communicate with very little words being passed between them; just the blows they dealt Jane were mostly heard.

Bella was taking turns between Jane and Aro. When she wasn't assisting her sister with Jane, she was with me and Jake, punching Aro while she taunted him about being his perfect daughter.

I guessed she had figured it out too. Aro had preferred her over Alice. He saw the monster he was in Bella; especially when she was filled with rage.

But I needed them to back off for a second.

Jake was about to hit Aro and Bella was waiting on her turn, when I stopped them. "Wait, I want to do something."

Bella's dark eyes lit up. She thought I wanted my turn to pound Aro into submission.

That wasn't it and I knew I was going to piss her off, but fuck it. I had to do this.

I went over to Aro. He was gasping and breathing heavily. I took a hold of his gag and Bella protested, "What are you doing?!"

I didn't answer right away. I removed the gag and then moved to Jane, removing hers. She spat blood on my shirt and I backhand her across the face. Stupid drugged up bitch! I hoped I hadn't caught something.

"I need to know," was all I said to Bella as I went and stood in front of Aro. The odd thing was, he wasn't his usual cocky self. He was quiet and subdue with his attention solely on Bella as she paced the floor. She leveled me and Aro with deadly glares. And as sick as it sounded, Aro looked like a proud dad looking at his kid.

"Why did you do it?" I asked, getting right to the point. "Why did you betray us?"

He wasn't looking at me. He tilted his head to the side and kept his gaze on Bella while she continued to pace and glare at us.

"Hey!" I shouted at him. He slowed turned his eyes to me, but they were still glazed over and filled with admiration.

What the fuck was going on here?

I went over to him and slapped him twice across the face, hoping it would at least piss the bastard off and make him come to his senses.

Jake saw what I was doing and said with a shrug, "Maybe he's high."

I was about to nod in agreement when Aro spoke up, his voice clear and smooth as he said, "I'm not high. I haven't been on anything for a good while now. I just pretended I was for the benefit of the audience." He looked at me with contempt then. "It was easy to make you and Nicky believe I was a drugged up idiot when in fact you and your cronies were the idiots." He chuckled at me. "It was so easy to fool you. The lot of yous were always too cocky for your own good. It made it easy for me to gain your trust while I prepared to take over."

That was his grand plan. To take over. I wasn't sure what I was going to do when he stopped talking but it wouldn't be good for his health.

I listened as he droned on about how easy it was manipulating my grandpa and Pop. But my ears perked up when he said, "I played all of you. The Whitlocks, The Cortezs and even those terrorists, the Chekov."

Wait. He didn't like the Chekovs? "You didn't like Vladimir and his boys?" I teased.

Aro chuckled darkly. "Why would I like those sick, pathetic bastards? I just used them to do my bidding." He turned to Bella then and even glanced in Rosalie's direction as he said, "Just like how Alice used James Swan. He was none the wiser to my daughter's convincing abilities. And with how Banner feared her, it was easy to keep his ass in line. Banner's a very good lackey. I wished Bella had utilized his services."

Bella didn't like hearing her name on his tongue. She stomped over and punched him in the face before making her way to my side, coming to stand next to me.

"You better hurry up with this." She hissed to me. "My blood is fucking boiling too much for your little interrogation."

"I'm just as pissed as you are. I lost my father to this bastard." I reminded her harshly. "I want the same thing you want!"

"Don't raise your voice at her!" Aro shouted at me.

Everyone, even his bitch, looked at him in shock. He was defending Bella?

But Aro didn't stop. He unleashed his fury on me.

"Do you know how much I hated seeing you with her?" He shouted. "How it disgusted me that my daughter was meddling with the likes of you?" He sneered at me with disgust. "You dirty piece of shit!"

We were all too shock to respond and Aro used the opportunity to let me know how much he truly hated me.

"My Isabella is far better than any of you!" He spat. "Do you know how horrible it was to stand aside and allow her to be raised by that ridiculous Swan family? And then to top it off, when she got the assignment to infiltrate the Whitlock gang and bring you down, you sunk your claws into my precious little girl and manipulated her into your bed, you disgusting creature!"

I was almost too stunned to speak, but I managed to find the words. "You really hate me, don't you?"

Aro scoffed. "Hate doesn't even begin to cover it, Baby blue." He chuckled sinisterly.

"Why?" This was what I wanted to know. Where did his hatred stem from?

"Because…"

"Because what?"

"Because you're his!" He yelled and everyone looked at me.

Jane rolled her eyes and scoffed, "Not this shit again!"

"Shut up, you bitch!" Aro growled at her.

"Fuck you, old man!" Jane shouted back. Then she started to rattle off what I really wanted to know. "He's obsessed with you and his so called hatred for you, Jasper. But it was really your dad he hated because he wanted your mom but she loved your father," she said in one breath. "It has been so boring to hear."

"I'm gonna to fucking skin you alive!" Aro threatened her.

"Shut the fuck up!" I yelled at him.

Jane went on. "So you and Michael are born, right? And life goes on and Tanya loves her family, but Mr. Obsessive here still can't get over the woman so he tries to rape her and it doesn't work out. But, and here's where I thought your dad should've killed his ass, instead Nicky beats him up, and after some hard tries at making him understand his place, your parents forgive him. At least I think Nicky did. Rumor has it, your mom remained skittish around him."

"How does Bella come into the picture?" Rosalie asked her.

"I'm warning you!" Aro yelled at Jane and I punched him in the mouth, shutting him up.

"Go on."

Jane scoffed and said, "Since I'm gonna die anyway. So life goes on Aro meets you people's mother, Renee. By the way, she's still working with him. If I don't make it out of this alive, there is still that bitch to deal with since she is as nuts as her baby daddy over there and still wants to be like Tanya Denali. It's still the bitch's dream which Aro promised to make it come true."

I looked at Bella.

"Don't worry about it," she said to me. "Renee is going to get hers." It wasn't what I meant. I just pitied her for a moment. The only good parent she had was Charlie Swan.

"What about his big plan?" I asked Jane while glaring at Aro who was giving Jane death glares.

"I swear to God, you're going to die!" He shouted at her.

She laughed and went on when I asked, "So he actually thought it would've worked?"

"It would've worked if it wasn't for Bella," Jane spat then laughed. "She's good. Almost too good. Every time we think we got you, she stepped in. And as much as it drove Aro crazy, he wouldn't deliberately hurt her so he set up things; Alexei Chekov attacking her. He has been doing thing like that over the years to draw out her dark side." Jane laughed and spat blood out of her mouth after Rosalie hit her.

"What do you mean?" I said and Jane looked at me like I was stupid. But I knew what she meant. He had been testing Bella all these years just like I summarized.

"Wake up, Whitlock." Jane said with scorn.

"Who says I'm asleep?"

Jane laughed and looked at me. "Who knows, maybe you will wake up one day before the bitch turns on you. 'Cause I promise you. You won't see it coming if you keep acting like a blind bitch around her," Jane warned. "She's just like Aro. As much as I'm sure she's trying to convince herself she isn't, she really is. She is her father's daughter and the two of them are two murderous peas in a fucked up pod. Bella is more like him than Alice ever was which was why the little bitch went crazy trying to prove herself to him and look what happened, she's fucking dead because she took _her_ on." She nodded toward Bella.

As much as I hated to admit it, there was some truth to what Jane was saying. Bella was more like Aro than she was willing to accept. Even their killing pattern was the same. I had grown up around the motherfucker and knew how terrible he could when he went after someone who betrayed us. In those moments, he was nothing but terror. And Bella was the exact same way.

"You believe her," Bella stated and then said nothing else.

"And he should," Aro chimed in. "You are perfect. I thought everything through and you turned out better than I expected. And with your greatness and my leadership, we can bring the Volturi name back to power, Isabella. It is your legacy."

"What do you mean?" Bella asked in a shaky voice.

It was enough. I didn't need to know anything else. It was time to get rid of Aro and Jane and get on with our lives or whatever the fuck came next.

Bella edged closer to Aro. Rosalie stepped closer to Jane and the bitch was spitting crap at Rosalie, telling her about James' death and how great it felt to shoot him.

Even though Bella's focus was on Aro, I knew she was listening to Jane too. I heard everything I needed to hear and I was ready to kill them and burn the bodies. These two deserved the hell that was waiting on them.

"Well," Aro chuckled. "You think you got this way all on your own? No my dear Isabella, I made you!"

Bella started giving him hints and he answered every one truthfully.

"The mission to Mexico?" she questioned.

"I orchestrated it," Aro said in a breath. "You were successful though."

"Because Jasper saved me. And it was so horrific I blocked it out and couldn't even remember him!" She shouted at him.

Aro shrugged. "Well, it worked out."

"And killing my brother? That was what?"

"He's not your brother!" Aro hissed at her; hating the fact Bella was associating herself with the Swans.

"He was more my family than you!" She retorted.

Aro chuckled. The sound of it echoing his disbelief which was blowing my mind. In Aro's obviously deluded mind, he thought he could mean something to Bella. "I know what's going on here."

Bella scoffed. "What's going on here?"

Aro smiled a deranged looking smile at her. "This is all Charles Swan's fault."

"How so?" Bella asked.

"He taught you to hate me so it's understandable that you think you hate me."

"I don't think!" Bella countered. "I know I do!"

"I killed James to get you here," Aro said like it was nothing. "I had Jasper's father killed because he was standing in the way of my progress."

"Bullshit!" I yelled at him, making him smile at me.

"You're right, Baby blue," Aro admitted. "I never liked your father." Hearing him admit it should come as no surprise to me. I mean what best friend would stab you in front like this? Pop was fucking dead because of this asshole's betrayal. So it wasn't shocking to hear him admit it.

"All that time…" I left the rest of sentence hanging for Aro to fill in the blanks.

"I hated him," he said with a hearty laugh. "It feels so good to admit it! I mean I have had to pretend for so long, Baby blue. Do you know how hard it has been to do that? Especially after Tanya had you and your brother?"

"Really?"

"Yeah." He sighed. "I mean her brother knew. Carlisle was always a smart one so he tried to keep me away from her. I admit he is a sick son of a bitch which was why Old Man Whitlock used him as a cleaner for the family. He knew Carlisle wouldn't have a problem 'cleaning up' certain messes."

"You're scared of Carlisle?" Bella laughed. "Good."

She and Carlisle had some sort of understanding or they were so damaged that the beast inside of them understood one another. I didn't know what it was. But it was a good thing in my book. I liked that they weren't at odds anymore. And Bella seemed to be right. Aro looked a little uncomfortable when Carlisle was mentioned even though he was the one who brought him up.

He quickly jumped off the topic of Carlisle and turned his attention to me, but something felt wrong. I didn't like it but I couldn't put my finger on it yet.

I could hear Aro talking but something felt wrong. It seemed like he was buying time.

"I can't tell you how many times I thought about pushing your mother down a flight of stairs when she was pregnant with you." He told me. And that shit hurt, but I didn't let it show. "I wanted the baby to be mine. You should be my kid!"

"Shut up!" Bella shouted at him.

I started looking around. It felt like we weren't alone. I got my gun out. I moved from Aro and Bella going over to Jane and Rosalie. Jake took my place, watching over Bella.

Something wasn't right.

Then it happened.

Aro was spouting nonsense about him and Bella taking over and being a father and daughter team he had always dreamed of them being when I heard it. The smash of Aro's chair connecting with the wall and then Bella was over him, pulling him to his feet and hitting him with all she had would have been phenomenal to watch if he hadn't pulled out a blade and slashed her with it.

I heard Bella's gasp and watched it slow motion as she backed away and held her stomach.

I couldn't say when or how fast I got over there, but I was on top of Aro in a second pounding the bastard into the ground. He slashed at me with his blade I kicked it out of his hand and then kicked him in the face. I think I broke his nose. I wasn't sure. I didn't care. It ended now.

We got into a fist fight and I didn't know where the bastard was getting the strength from, but he was giving the hits as much as he was taking them.

Everything faded to the back of my mind. My monster was out and craving Aro's blood for all he had done to me and what or who I held close to my heart. I was going to fucking kill him.

Then I felt it. It burned. It was warm. I heard Bella's scream and looked at her. She had a horrified look on her face and I watched as she grabbed Jake and dropped to the ground while yelling for me to get down.

Instinctively, I followed her command. But Aro was over me. He had gotten a hold of his knife and was trying to stick the blade into my chest. I held him off while he pushed down with all his strength. I could feel the strength of my grip slipping. And I wasn't about to lose to this bastard.

More shots rang out and Rosalie was hit in the shoulder. She went down cursing. Jane was trying to free herself while she yelled at us, "I told you! It's Renee! She's here as his back up! Don't you fucking forget what I said, Whitlock. They are the same!"

It was the last thing she said to me before she was shot in the head.

"Fuck!" Jake yelled. He wanted to get to me to get Aro off of me. I knew I had gotten shot and if my grip loosened just a little bit, I was as good as dead. Aro would plunge his knife into my chest.

It wasn't going to go down like that. I was determined not to let it.

There was an explosion somewhere off to the side and it distracted Aro long enough for me to twist the blade in his hand and plunge it into his gut. I pulled him to me and hit him with my head and then kicked him off of me.

"No!" Bella yelled as I lay back down in exhaustion. I must be bleeding out or some shit because I was losing consciousness fast. I could swear I heard Bella say, "No! Not yet, you bastards! She's out there! You're going to let him get away!"

Then I heard rapid gunshots being fired. When it stopped, there were teams of people dressed in black all around me. There was someone kneeling beside me with their hand over my wound.

I closed my eyes.

When I opened them again I was in the back of an ambulance with my avenging angel by my side.

"Bella?" I said. I sounded weak to my own ears.

She smiled at me. There were tears in her eyes. I wanted to reach up and wipe away, but the handcuff was preventing me from doing so.

"It's over," she said.

We were driving fast with sirens blasting.

"Aro?"

Bella looked pissed. "I'll find him. I shot him in the back. I shot him more than once but his body has disappeared from the ambulance it was in. I'll find him though. This isn't over."

"Jane's dead?" I asked. I felt like I was slipping under. Someone said something about my blood pressure dropping. They must be right because I felt sleepy.

"Yes."

"So?"

We both knew what had to happen next. I smiled at her and mouthed I loved her. She smiled back and then grew serious as she said, "Jasper Whitlock, You're under arrest."

I didn't get to hear anything else. I just saw my mom's smiling face.


	38. Reality

_**Bella, 2006**_

I backed away feeling the burn from the cut Aro just gave me. Jasper rushed over from where he was and began hitting Aro like there was no tomorrow.

Then it happened.

A barrage of gunfire began raining down on the warehouse. Jasper was hit in the abdomen. Rosalie was hit in the shoulder and Jane was killed.

Jake and I would have probably been next if the CIA hadn't interfered. Agent Collins, Mr. D, arrived with his men and I wasn't as thankful as I should be. I shouted at them for interrupting. I was so close. It didn't matter who was firing. I would have gotten my hands on Aro and killed him before he could escape, but they stopped me from doing that. And the sons of bitches weren't even listening to me. I wanted them to stop their invasion because it was helping to create the perfect diversion Aro needed to get away and I couldn't have that.

I got a hold of a gun and popped off a few rounds after him. I knew one of those bullets hit the bastard in the back. I was sure I shot him in the back of the head too. He went down and I felt victory which turned into panic.

Rosie was shot and so was Jasper.

We knew the risks we were taking but a side of me wanted Jasper to come out of this unscathed. Not in the back of a fucking ambulance with me heading to whatever hospital Mr. D told the EMTs to take us to. Rosie was in the ambulance ahead of us with Jake riding with her. She would be okay. Thank God. I couldn't lose her. Not today.

Jasper came around for a bit. My side was still burning from my injury and I was feeling a little oozy but I kept focused for him.

He sounded so weak when he spoke. Weaker than I had ever heard and my heart skipped a beat. I wasn't going to lose him either. I just couldn't. Not now.

I couldn't lose the guy I loved while the devil that made me was alive somewhere with my own mother as his ally.

I knew I had shot him but somehow Aro's unconscious body disappeared from the scene before we loaded Jasper and Rosie into their respective ambulances. Mr. D promised that heads would roll when he caught whoever helped Aro. That didn't placate me. I was still pissed it happened in the first place.

Aro was still breathing when they loaded him in the ambulance and if he had survived long enough to make to the hospital we were heading I wouldn't have allowed him to stay that way. I would have found him and finish what I started.

But someone took that chance away from me.

I would get him. But right now, all I could think about was Jasper. We were close to the hospital when his blood pressure dropped and the EMT lost his pulse. If the guy wasn't working so hard to get him back, I would have hurt him. I was filled with nothing but panic and fury.

We made it to the hospital and were rushed inside. We got to the trauma room and the doctors were doing all they could to save Jasper. I was holding my breath and silently begging him to breathe when Dad turned up. He stood with me and then he was saying something with concern about my side. Oh yeah, where Aro had cut me there. I should get it looked at and I would, but only after they got Jasper stabilized.

I think I said that to Dad.

I think I did.

I knew I heard the doctors saying they got Jasper back. I sighed in relief. And I turned to my dad and said, "He's back, Daddy." Before the world turned black.

There was a fucking annoying beeping sound going on somewhere near me and I was going to find it and crush it as soon as I opened my eyes.

Carefully, I took a peek and then clamped my eye shut because everything was so bright. I could feel an instant headache coming on.

"Oh! She lives!" Rosie's annoying ass said with a laugh.

"Shut the damn blinds!" I ordered her.

The room got dark and it felt safe to open my eyes so I did.

"What happened?"

Obviously I had passed out after the doctors jolted Jasper back to the land of the living.

I shot up in bed and regretted it immediately. The soreness from my side made me curse.

"You shouldn't have done that, mommy," Rosie said in a childlike voice. What the fuck were they giving her? Was she high? Why was she talking like a kid and calling me mommy?

"What did they give you?"

"Some good shit!" She laughed. "But not enough to impair my thinking and logic if that's what you're thinking, Mommy."

"Then quit it with the mommy shit!" I hissed at her.

"Why?" she said in an innocent voice, pouting her lips.

"Because you're freaking her out," A smooth voice said from the corner of the room by the lights before they are switched on for me to see Carlisle standing there with a lab coat on and a clipboard in his hand as he walked over to my bed.

"Shouldn't you be in jail?" I said to him, making him chuckle.

"Not according to the deal I have with Agent Demetri Collins," he retorted. "It allows me to be your physician and escape certain situations unscathed."

"Whatever." I told him, rolling my eyes. "Where's Jasper? Who made it out? What next?"

A solemn look passed between Rosie and Carlisle. Oh shit. I knew that look.

"Who died?" I asked gravely.

 _Please don't let them say Jasper._

"Michael," Carlisle said with sadness. "His injuries were too great. He had internal bleeding. We tried our best but…"

"You lost him," I finished for him.

Carlisle nodded. "I don't know how we're going to tell Jasper that he's the only Whitlock left. I knew he went into this wanting to save that kid. No matter how much Michael adored the rich lifestyle of a gangster, Jasper knew the good and the bad of it and didn't want his kid brother to have to go through what he did. He knew Michael could be more and he wanted it so bad for the kid. He fought so hard against something like this happening."

"It's not his fault," I said while wondering if Jasper would blame me because I was the closest thing he had to Aro right now to hate.

Did he associate me with my birth father? Did he believe Jane? Was I really that much like Aro?

Carlisle must have seen the doubt in my eyes. "He's not going to blame you."

"One day he will," I countered. "Jane said I was like Aro." Rosie started to rebuke me but I wasn't having it. "Maybe I am. And one day I won't be able to deny it anymore and I'll turn on all of you."

She was about to speak when Carlisle stopped her.

"You're nothing like Aro," Carlisle told me. "I know Aro very well so I can attest to that."

"Oh yeah?" I growled at him. "Then what am I?"

Carlisle chuckled. "You're the woman my nephew loves."

I scoffed.

Rosie laughed. "Mommy doesn't believe you."

What was with her?

"What the fuck are you giving her?" I asked Carlisle.

He looked at me and sighed. "She's trying to clue you in on something."

I looked between them like they were crazy. "What the hell is going on?"

Rosie laughed and Carlisle took a seat on the edge of my bed. "I know with all that has been going on, you probably haven't been feeling any differently."

"Is it cancer?" I was shooting for worst case scenario. "What? I got two weeks to live?"

He laughed. "No. It isn't cancer. It's a baby."

What was he talking about?

I laughed at him. "Carlisle, what are you taking? Are you dipping into the medical supply?"

"No," he said with a laugh. It was weird seeing him laugh. It was a cross between the most beautiful thing you've ever seen because he's got a set pearly whites gleaming at me and a fucking psychotic who looks like he's about to slit my throat. "You're pregnant. You're about seven weeks along."

I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. "That's not possible." I started calculating. It wasn't possible. It couldn't be. I mean I slept with Jasper, but…

"Whatever you're thinking," Carlisle said. "You're going to have a baby. Now for the complication."

"What?"

"How are you going to hide it from the FBI?"

Rosie jumped in. "Mr. D will give her the time off to have the kid if she's keeping it. She won't be with the FBI anymore. Her deal entails that she switches to our side. The CIA. She'll be in Special Ops."

She was just reeling the details of my deal off her tongue.

"Fuck!" I hissed.

Rosie smiled evilly. "That's right. Dad knows and he's going to have your ass. He nearly threw Mr. D off the roof the hospital when your deal was explained to us. In a crazy way though, Honey Bee, welcome to the dark side. I'm glad to be working with my sister 'cause we got Aro and our mom to catch."

She grabbed my hand and squeezed. "Oh yeah, he knows you're pregnant too."

"Great," I laughed humorlessly. "So he's gonna kill Jasper."

"He's just waiting on him to wake up to do it."

"Oh shit!" Dad was just waiting on Jasper to open his eyes so he could knock his lights out. I knew him. He would do it.

Carlisle and Rosie left me alone after that.

I couldn't believe it. My hand unconsciously went to my stomach as I thought about what Carlisle said. Could I be? Was he telling me the truth? I couldn't be! Could I?

I was healthy. I had check-ups. I didn't know of any complications that impaired my ability in getting pregnant. I just never thought about someone like me being a mom.

Shit, I was going to be a mother.

I started laughing at myself and didn't stop until I began to cry.

I must have fallen asleep because I woke up to the best thing in the world. Jasper, sitting by my bedside, staring at me. He was in a wheelchair and for a second I thought that he might be here to kill me.

Carlisle probably told him about his little brother's passing and he was here to fucking kill me. As much as I loved him. I wasn't going to let it happen. I don't know what it was, but I suddenly felt the urge to protect the life inside of me. Even from its father.

Taking a closer look at him I relaxed a bit and chose to sympathize with him instead. There was a look of utter defeat on Jasper's face. It told me he knew about his little brother's death.

"He's gone," he said softly. "He's gone, Bella. Michael's gone."

I didn't want to lie to him.

"I know." He gazed at me with tears in his eyes. "Carlisle told me." I shared.

He groaned in pain as he carefully got out of his chair. He used the railing of my bed to help get himself to his feet.

"Hey! Don't do that!" I warned him while pulling my own self up in the bed. "You're still sick!"

My words were his kryptonite. As soon as I reminded him about being sick since he was shot, he wobbled on his feet a bit. I grabbed his hand. "Come on," I told him, guiding him to sit down on my bed with me. He leaned his head back against my pillow and I placed my head on his chest.

For a brief moment, I thought about telling him about what Carlisle said about me being pregnant before I quickly dismissed the thought. I still couldn't wrap my head around it myself. Much less to tell Jasper about him supposedly knocking me up at a time like this.

It would be the last thing he would want to hear.

I could feel his grip on my body tighten as he wrapped me in his arms and then I could feel his chest rising and falling heavily before I heard him crying for the loss of the last of his family.

"I did everything I was supposed to," he cried. "So why did my brother have to die?"

I didn't know what to say. I didn't know how to console him so I promised him what I could. "We'll find them and make them pay. I promise you. We will."

He hugged me closer, seemingly accepting my oath. Then he chuckled humorlessly, "Guess I'm the last Whitlock, huh?"

I didn't answer him verbally. Just kept my head on his chest.

 _No, you're not._


	39. A Step Ahead

_**Jasper, 2006**_

Carlisle was talking but he wasn't making any sense. What he just said had to be something he imagined. Michael couldn't be dead. I had seen him. My little brother was fine. Yeah, he was banged up pretty bad but he was breathing when I saw him. Why was Carlisle kidding around with me? This wasn't the time to joke around with me.

"You're kidding me, right?" I actually laughed at him because the shit he just said was absurd.

But the solemn look on his face was forcing me to take my uncle seriously although it couldn't be true.

"Carlisle, I just fucking saw him!" This was a sick joke and the smile was being wiped off of my face. I wasn't playing.

"I know."

Again with the sad look.

"I'm not playing around, Unc."

"I'm not fucking with you, Jasper."

Everything else he said sounded like white noise. I was making out some of the shit he was saying like some crap about internal bleeding, Michael's injuries being too great and my little brother going into cardiac arrest. They tried for a long time to get him back but were unsuccessful.

I wanted to shoot him. I wanted to kill my uncle on the spot for telling me and he knew that shit too.

"I know you want to fuck me up, but I'm sorry, Jasper," he said sadly. "There was nothing more I could do. I was down to pumping on his chest and begging him to stay. I'm so sorry."

"Get out," I think I said to him. No, I knew I said it, but he was still talking and not listening to me. "GET OUT!"

I knew the look I was giving him was enough to tell him to go but I had to shout. I wanted him to shut up. I wanted him to eat his fucking words because I couldn't be all alone. No. No. No. Michael wasn't gone. He couldn't have been so far gone when they brought to wherever I was that he couldn't hold on. But it was true whether I wanted it to be so or not. Michael was gone.

Carlisle nodded and walked out of my room without another word. And then I lost it. I cried because it felt like my heart was going to explode. I cried and then I was screaming because none of this should be true. I could see my brother's goofy grin in front of me. I knew I was a terrible person and I should pay for all I have done but not with him. He was innocent. I should be the one paying for this. I should be lying in a fucking morgue. Not him.

No one came to check on me and I was grateful. I would have ripped into them if they did.

I knew I was in a hospital. At least I think I was. If I thought back to what my uncle was talking about, as much as it hurts, I think he said Bella was here too. Something about her fainting after they wheeled my unconscious ass into their trauma room to get the gunshot out of me.

The thought of her being here made me panic. Wait, what did he mean she fainted? I knew Aro had slashed her side, but was she hurt worse than that?

Aro escaped. The warehouse came under some heavy gunfire when whoever cam for him, but I knew Bella shot him. I had been hit and was down on the ground but I was conscious enough to see my girl shooting at that traitor.

She didn't miss.

And since he escaped, I knew she was pissed.

Did she know about Michael? Carlisle must have told her. I had to find her. I had to see her before they took me away. Seeing as I was awake I should be expecting them any minute. They could be right outside my door right now.

It was the deal. I gave them names. The information I had given them on the higher ups I was willing to rat on was enough to keep my ass safe for a while. But I was wise enough to know that once I was in prison then I would be fighting for my life. Not my ass. No one was going to dare to fuck with me right off the bat like that. I was a fucking Whitlock and that name carried a lot of weight in the criminal underworld.

But there would be attempts on my life. I was sure of it.

The CIA and Mr. Demetri Collins couldn't protect me from everything. Mr. D, as I liked to call him, liked to pretend he cared about me, but I knew the bastard hated me and wished he could riddle me with bullets and be done with it. In his snide looking eyes, I was nothing but a criminal. An animal incapable of feeling anything but rage and had an appetite for violence and chaos.

Nonetheless, I made the deal because I wanted to help my family. So the agency would crush the Chekovs with the evidence they had been gathering. They used my services to get access and collect what they wanted even from the FBI.

I fucking hope they put Banner in my cell because I wanted to beat that snitch to death with my bare fists.

Anyways, I had thought that my pop and my brother and my friends would have made it out alive. I had sold myself to the government to get them out. I would serve their sentences. I was sure Mr. D would ensure I would. Which probably meant I was going to rot in prison. But Michael would have been free. Leah and Edward could stop spying and killing for me and just be a couple. Emmett wouldn't have to hack another computer system so I could have my way. I was tired and ready to die for my sins but then the girl walked in.

Bella breathed new life in me. She showed me with her fiery temper and unrelenting attitude that it was okay to breathe. I didn't owe anyone anything. I was who I was and she loved me for it. We had met before in Mexico and I remembered the look on her face that day. How her eyes, even though she was weak from torture, they weren't willing to give up and I had to get her out. She wasn't a pawn. She was nobody's toy. She was an avenging angel. And as I watched her kill those men in rage, I saw how terribly powerful she could be.

So when we met again and I realized this was James' little sister, the fiery woman who had lived in my thoughts since I met her, was within my grasp, I couldn't let go. James, if he had lived, I doubt he would have wanted someone like me around his sister, but he would have had to accept it because I would fuck up any other asshole she wanted until she picked me.

I had to see her. I needed that fiery strength now because I felt weak. I needed her to tell me it was going to be okay to breathe without Michael around.

"I'm sorry," was the last thing my uncle had said to me. His voice laced with nothing but sadness as he left me alone. I had to get out of here and find Bella. I couldn't even close my eyes without seeing my brother's smiling face. I closed them for just a second because of the pain in my side, and I could hear his laugh and then I saw him the way he looked the last time I saw him. His face battered and bloodied. I had promised him. Fuck! I had promised him and I failed him.

God, was this my punishment for being a terrible person? Was that why you took everything from me? First my mother then my pop and now my little brother too?

I ran my hand through my hair, roughly pulling on the strands. My head felt like there was ticking bomb up there. But then maybe the pain in my head would make my heart hurt less.

It didn't.

I couldn't stand this. There was a wheelchair not far from my bed. So I got out of bed, my stomach felt heavy and like it was on fire with every little movement I made but I had to get out of here. I climbed into the chair and I wheeled myself to the door. I felt like screaming when I got it open and saw Charlie Swan standing there.

Shit!

I really didn't need this now. I wasn't ready to go. I knew there would have been someone to haul my ass off to jail but I dumbly thought I could see Bella before I left.

Forget jail. He was looking down at me like he wanted to kill me and all I wanted to do was tell his daughter I loved her before he did. I didn't have an ounce of fight in me.

I relaxed in the chair and he grabbed the handles, spun me around and wheeled me back into my room.

"You were going to her?"

We both know he was talking about Bella.

"Yeah."

"She already knows."

"Knows what?" I was playing dumb. Bella knew about Michael.

"About your brother's death. Sorry." He said it all in one breath without a hint of emotion.

"Sure you are," I said with hatred coloring my tone. I spun around my wheelchair. If he was going to kill me, I wasn't scared. I wanted to see it coming. It only sucked that I wouldn't get to tell Bella I loved her before I drew my last breath.

Charlie gave me a look. It almost looked like he was proud of me. But I wasn't sure. I was confused and seeing things.

"No, kid. I really am sorry about the kid," he said. "Look, I know about your deal with Agent Collins." He hissed out Mr. D.' name like it was poison. "It goes deeper than you think and now…"

I didn't care.

"Look, if you're here to kill me, go ahead." I growled and then sighed. "Just…you probably won't do it but I'm asking anyways. Please tell Bella I love her. With everything in me."

Charlie looked stunned. So I pushed. "Come on, I know you spy types. Isn't this how you work? You're here to kill me, right?"

"No."

Well, I was shocked. "Then why are you…"

"Bella made a deal with Agent Collins. I believe you know him as Mr. D. and I want her out," he said.

A million thoughts ran through my mind as to why she would do that and then it settled on the obvious one. Aside from the illegal things she had gotten involved in to get what she wanted, she made the deal for me.

"What does she have to do?" I pushed my sadness down. I was going to rip into her for this. What was she thinking? She was supposed to get her ass out of this!

"I'm sure he is willing to give access to getting Aro and her mother."

"Wait, her mother?"

"That's who got Aro out," he said with a sigh.

"But what does she have to do for that access?"

"Work for him on a special ops team."

If her dad was telling me this, he was convinced I could talk her out of it.

"You have the details?" I asked and he nodded 'yes'.

"There's something else."

Charlie held the door open for me and I wheeled myself out. He pointed me to Bella's room and I wheeled myself there.

Charlie looked like he wanted to say something else back there but stopped himself. I wonder what it was. He didn't come to my room to kill me. He came because he wanted me to stop Bella. Knowing that she made a deal with Mr. D made my heart sink. She was going too far. I had already lost too much. I wasn't about to lose her too.

I got to her room and made my way inside. She was asleep and by some miracle didn't wake up from the sound of the door banging against the wheelchair as I made my way into her room.

She looked so peaceful lying there. I wheeled myself closer. I wished things were different as I watched her sleep. We should be here because I went up against Bella in a sparring session and we hurt each other.

She was a damn good fighter.

Or, and this was a silly thought, she had just had my baby and she was sleeping because childbirth, while a beautiful miracle, was fucking tiring and Bella had spent most of it threatening to kill me if I touched her again.

I chuckled to myself.

I wasn't going to have that, was I? Love was blinding me. What kind of selfish could I be to hold her back? I wasn't getting out of prison anytime soon. I shouldn't want her to wait for me, but I selfishly did. The thought of Bella with another guy threatened to send me in a fit of rage.

Just as the thought was about to get the best of me, she woke up and I saw those inquisitive brown eyes watching me. They looked relieved to see me and I knew I could only show her the pain I felt in mine.

She invited me to her bed and no matter how painful it was to get up there I felt a whole lot better when I was finally lying beside her.

I made a comment about being the last Whitlock and Bella didn't answer. I supposed she agreed despite her silence. But I got what I wanted from her. Comfort and an answer without asking the hard question.

Was it okay to keep breathing even though I lost Michael and Pop?

Looking into Bella's eyes, I saw that it was. She loved me as much as I loved her so I urged her off of my chest and held her shoulders while gazing into her eyes as I said, "Whatever deal you made, cancel it."

If she was surprised I knew, she didn't show it.

"How?" Was all she asked.

""Your dad, Charlie, told me you'd be placed on some special team to work with Mr. D until he say when." I told her. "End it, Bella."

"I can't," she whispered. "I have been bad and then there's you."

"They're going to throw the book at me."

She shook her head vehemently. "Not with my deal. The years will be lessened."

It almost sounded so good but I knew they had to be lying to her.

"Mr. D hates me, baby," I said. "He's looking to sink me despite whatever information I have given."

She refused to believe me so I pushed. "If he could've gotten me the death sentence, he would've but I'm still valuable. What do you think is going to happen when my luck runs out?"

Bella switched tactic. "Then I'll bust you out of prison."

I actually cracked a smile and kissed her. "I don't want you to. You're in enough trouble as it is."

She looked troubled when I said that. "What's wrong?" I asked. Something was bothering her. It had been written all over her face since she saw me.

She took a deep breath and looked me square in the eye. "I have my reasons for thinking you'd be worth the trouble of busting you out of prison," she said quietly.

"Because you love me so much," I said with a small smile.

"That and the fact that…" She stopped herself. Then she was talking more to herself than me. "This is so hard to say but I should just say it, right?" She looked at me like she was asking me that.

"Yeah. Whatever it is, just say it, babe."

"Yeah." She sighed deeply. "I should." She closed her eyes and opened them. There was this renewed confidence in them as she stared me down. "Jasper…"

"Yeah?"

"Jasper, I'm…"


	40. A Moment Ago

_**Bella, 2006**_

"Jasper, I'm…"

His face looked expectant while his eyes were filled with nothing but patience. I knew he was hurting, both physically and emotionally, but he was here; being there for me.

How could he expect me not to fight for him? We might not have been together for a long time, but I was sure he realized I wasn't the type of person to give up easily. Despite what he believed when it came to Mr. D, I would find a way out for us. I would find a way to help him.

My child would know its father.

"Bella, whatever it is…" he said with a sad chuckle. "I'll be okay. We'll be fine. I don't want you to worry. I'll be…"

I rushed it out. "I'm pregnant!"

I had squeezed my eyes shut as I said it. I didn't know what to expect when I said it. Would he be shocked or do something dumb like try to deny it?

I mean guys did that shit, right? Always saying the wrong things like how did it happen as if they weren't there too? As if the girl just woke up pregnant.

Was Jasper going to do the same thing?

I wasn't sure.

I realized everything was quiet. He hadn't said a word so I chanced a look at his face and found him staring blankly at me. He opened and closed his mouth a couple of times. Then he looked like he wanted to say something one moment but nothing would come out of his gaping mouth so he slammed it shut.

I waited and when what I had said looked like it finally registered to him, his eyes widened and he let out a humorless chuckle.

Yeah, his brain had caught up with what I had just said.

I wasn't sure what to say next, but I opened my mouth anyways about to profess that I would handle it if he couldn't. As if I knew what the hell to do. I felt at a loss about what came next.

 _What was I going to do?_

Jasper's voice snapped me out of my thoughts. "Are you sure?" he asked softly.

I wanted to roll my eyes at him but resisted the urge to. Instead, I nodded and said in one breath, "Carlisle told me. Rose and Dad know. I think Mr. D knows. I don't know how this will affect things but I know I want this child."

Holy shit! Did I just admit that? I mean a part of me really did, but I was so scared. I wasn't exactly the best person in the world to have a kid. I was a fucked up individual. What did I have to offer a child? I didn't know. I just knew I wanted my kid.

"And I want this baby to know you." I bravely told him.

He smiled at me and it was breathtaking.

"I wanted to tell you that you won't be the last Whitlock when you said you were a moment ago, but I chickened out." I chuckled.

He didn't answer. He pulled me into a fierce hug only to let go of me just as quick. His eyes were still bright with a mixture of emotions but happiness was winning.

"I'm not hurting you, am I?" he asked with concern.

"No." I smiled.

"Are you in any pain?"

"No."

He was ready to fuss over me but I stopped him.

"I'm fine. I swear," I said.

"Are you sure?"

I had to smile. "Yes."

He smiled back. "It's just that Aro cut you and…what? Why are you smiling like that?" He asked, making me realize I was.

"I don't know. I guess I like having you worry about me."

"Someone has to!" Jasper argued. "You're impulsive and irrational when you want to be. Not to mention stubborn. I don't want you doing anything to hurt you and the baby and I just fucking realized I should have killed Aro for fucking cutting you!"

His previous peace and happiness was being disturbed by the thought of that bastard. "Well, I made it here. I fainted and then I woke up some time later only to find that you had knocked me up," I told him. "I'm scared as fuck but I'm dealing with it. I love that you're here even though I know you'll be taken from me soon. So I don't wanna talk about Aro right now. I just want to be here for you and be here with you," I professed. "Is that okay? Can we just be?"

Jasper smiled and pulled me down in his arms. I felt safe there. "Yeah, let's do that," he said, surrendering to a moment of peace like I asked.

"I thought it would harder to tell you," I admitted to him after a while. "I thought you would freak out on me."

"No!" He hurriedly said.

I lifted my head up from his chest and gave him a skeptical look. "You weren't freaked out?"

He smirked. "Maybe a little."

I put my head back down and he started to run his fingers through my growing hair. "I wanna see it tall again."

"You knew me with…"

Before I could contradict him with what little memory I had of our first meeting, Jasper was quick to cover all bases. "Yeah I know your hair wasn't so tall when we met in Mexico, but there was a picture of you at that meeting place for your family that James took me to and I saw and fell in love with a picture of a younger you there with hair so long it was sitting on top of your ass."

"You said that so beautifully," I said sarcastically and he pinched my shoulder.

"Behave. I know what I'm talking about, Bella," he said. "You were so beautiful in that picture. I could hardly stop staring at it. Your brother caught me and warned me off saying you weren't in my league and if it were in his power, we'd never meet."

"Sounds like Jamie." I scoffed.

"Yeah, but he was right. Now I'm thinking about what'll happen if you have a girl as beautiful as you and how I would want to kill every motherfucker who started to get close to my little girl."

"Imagine how worried I am to have a boy," I countered. "If he's the spitting image of you, imagine the amount people I'll have to beat away with a stick. I'm sure your mom had that problem when it came to you."

He chuckled deeply. "She did."

"Oh shut up!" I huffed and he laughed at me. When the laughter died down, partly because of his injuries and how sore his ribs felt when he laughed, we grew quiet again.

I don't know how long we laid there before Jasper broke the silence. "Bella, thank you."

"For?" I asked, sitting up to look him in the eyes when he spoke.

"Because I just lost Michael and now you're telling me all is not lost. That I have you and your love for me and we're going to have a baby. I knew if he were…" He choked up and then sighed before continuing, "If Michael were here, he would be happy for us."

He pulled me back into his arms and once I assured him again that I was okay with him holding me tightly, we just laid there.

We must have fallen asleep because the next thing I knew I was been shaken awake by Mr. D.

"Isn't this cute?" He rolled his beady eyes up from me to Jasper's face.

"Why are you looking at me like that, Whitlock?" Mr. D. said. Jasper must have been frowning at him. "Want to do something about me touching what you think is yours?" He was running his hand up my foot until I stopped him.

"You want that hand?"

He laughed and moved it before stepping away.

"So we have some new developments and its gotten us in a predicament," Mr. D said as he slowly paced the room in front of us.

"What are you talking about, Agent Collins?" Jasper asked gruffly.

Mr. D stopped and gave him a leering smile. "You have put my newly acquired agent out of commission until further notice for one, Mr. Whitlock, because of your spawn in her tummy." He looked at me before he continued, "Although I was wondering if I could be persuasive enough to have her terminate this little growing complication so we could get our show on the road sooner rather than later."

"You sick bastard!" Jasper shouted at him and then groaned in pain.

"You should really take it easy," Mr. D said to him as I pressed the button on my bed, requesting assistance. "You don't want to fuck around and die before I'm through with you. I want my mission to be complete before I consider letting you draw your last breath, Whitlock."

Listening to Agent Demetri Collins speak made me realize that Aro or my own mother wouldn't the last persons on my shit list.

"With people like you in the world, there will always be more to fight," I told him.

He smiled brightly at my threat.

"I like how you think, Volturi." I bristled as he chuckled and pretended to catch his mistake. "Oh! I'm sorry! I mean, Swan. It is Swan, right, Isabella?"

"Yes…it is."

He nodded. "Good. Good. So, Swan you'll need to go back to the FBI," he said.

"I know."

"No one is to know about your pregnancy." He told me.

"I know that too."

"I'm not sure how much I can protect you from the taking the stand against Whitlock."

I knew he wasn't going to.

"I can handle it."

He nodded. "I assume you know that the director of your division wants to interrogate you," Demetri said.

"I know, Mr. D," I said and he smirked.

"I love that," he mused. "Mr. D. I think I'm gonna like working with you, Isabella."

I nodded as Carlisle and a nurse entered the room. I moved away, letting them assess Jasper.

"We'll work out more details as we go on," he said with an eerie smile. "I think this will be a beautiful friendship."

Mr. D left us and then Carlisle and the nurse followed behind him shortly after. I climbed back into the bed with Jasper. I didn't want him to go and I was glad Carlisle seemed okay with him staying with me.

"We're going to have to get rid of him," Jasper said.

"I know." Knowing that he was talking about Demetri Collins.

"What's next?" Jasper asked as I lay in his arms.

"I go back to the FBI. I get debriefed which means I will be interrogated. You go to jail." I was reeling it off my tongue like nothing, but these would all be life changing moments for me because I was coming off of this mission with more to lose than any other. I was about to hand over the man I loved to the enemy. My own bosses or so soon to be ex-bosses I should say as they were about to leave my life only to be replaced by a more terrible one.

"And then?" Jasper went on.

"I take the stand against you and sink you with whatever they grill me to say."

"Good."

I looked up at him in disbelief. "How is that good?"

"Because it'll help you to get out. I'm going to prison, baby. No matter what we do. I'm going," he said. "But you and the kid and your family have a chance. Take them and get out."

"Not without you."

I lay my head back down on his chest and drowned him out while he tried to convince me that leaving him behind would be a good thing.


	41. Interrogate

_**Bella, 2006**_

The reflection in the mirror couldn't be me. The girl in the mirror wasn't the one who last stood in this apartment staring at the same mirror promising herself to confront her brother's killer and make him pay.

I went into this wanting nothing more than to shed blood of the man I thought killed my brother and came out with what I never expected in a million years.

My hand unconsciously went to my flat stomach knowing that in a couple of months it would change drastically. I smiled at the thought of my child growing.

It was expected and I should be running away scared but as the days go by I find myself falling in love with the thought of being a mom. This was for me. It wasn't about the love I had for my family or the man I never thought I would even think of loving, this was for my child. Others wanted me to terminate this pregnancy. I should be considering it. I was a killer. What kid would be safe with me as their parent? When I glanced in the mirror at my cold dark brown eyes and saw a woman unafraid of raining down terror on her enemies staring back at me, I had to admit that at first, the thought of someone like me being responsible for another human being scared the hell out of me. Not anymore though. I had come to realize something. I knew how fierce I could be and I knew I would go to any length to protect the life of my child.

So as I looked at the reflection in the mirror I have come to see that I was far stronger than the old me. The one who went into this assignment with a lonely goal of vengeance was walking out with more hope for the future than I should have.

I felt sorry for anyone who thought they could stop my happiness.

I let go of my stomach and ran a hand over my black suit before checking my makeup with a smirk on my face and then walking away from the mirror and heading out the door of my apartment.

Rosie was waiting in the car for me. She was parked right in the front of my building. I smiled as I stepped outside, approaching the car. There was a black SUV parked about three cars behind hers. If they were going to follow us, at least be inconspicuous about it. The thought made me smile as I got in my sister's Dodge Charger. She was still rocking her head to the rock music pumping through her speakers.

"Do you think my little niece will love the music I like?" She mused and then answered herself before I could even reply. "Of course she will!" She had gotten in her head somehow that I was having a girl and aside from being aunty and niece, they were going to be best of friends. "I'm gonna be the cool and fabulous aunt while you're going to Rambo Cop Mom."

I rolled my eyes at her. "Rambo?"

"Oh yeah!" She laughed as she took us out of park and pulled into the light traffic, honking her horn at anyone who dared prevented her from speeding down the road.

"Baby on board okay?" I reminded her.

We stopped at a red light and she looked at me like I was crazy. "You realize that I would rip anybody's spine out of their ass if they dared to run into my car, right?"

Enough said. Of course I knew my sister's love for automobiles. "Yeah, I know how much you love cars."

"Fuck that!" She corrected. "I'm talking about my family." She placed a hand on my stomach. "That's why I thought you should've married him."

"Not this again." I sighed exasperatedly. "I know what I'm doing."

"No, you don't," Rosie argued. "If you had married him, you wouldn't have to testify against him."

"I have my own way of doing things, alright?!" I shouted.

She scoffed. "The rough and explosive way you mean."

Should I tell her? Should I tell her what Mr. D said? That he had anticipated me wanting to marry Jasper to protect him from my damaging testimony? I knew what I had to say would definitely sink him. It would send him away forever. Fuck his deal.

I trusted my sister. And it didn't matter if I told her. I would have to live this way until I could have things my way. I had to play along for all their sakes.

"Agent Collins knew Jasper and I had considered it and he squashed the idea," I said to Rosie.

She slowed the car as she listened to me. The black SUV pretending not to follow us slowed as well and I smirked at the rearview mirror.

Rosie sighed. "Look, I never condoned the Jasper thing. We both knew who he was. Being with a guy like him was a dangerous kind of love."

I choked back the tears as I thought about a few days ago as I stood aside and watched agents handcuffed Jasper and took him away.

"I know," I whispered, swiftly wiping my fallen tears away.

As we drove, I recounted what Agent Collins and I discussed before Jasper was taken into custody.

 _I was doing my best to ignore what Jasper was saying about me leaving him behind and after falling asleep on his chest._

 _I dreamt of my brother and I thought he would be mad at me for being with Jasper but he wasn't. He said I made him proud. I had protected the ones I loved and he was happy I had actually found someone. He even joked he knew the guy would have to be a pretty strong man, both mentally and physically, to deal with me. Against his better judgment, Jamie said he actually believed Jasper and I were good for each other._

 _I woke up in Jasper's arms, crying, only to have him that I was calling my brother's name in my sleep._

" _Everything will be okay," he promised me._

 _I hugged him, holding him close. I needed to feel his skin on mine and listen to him breathe. Our time together would end soon and then the vultures would descend._

" _Time's almost up," I said to him._

 _He sighed and I felt the deep intake of his breath as it vibrated through his chest. "I know."_

 _A thought struck me and I decided to give it a shot. I would do whatever it took to save him from the fate I knew was waiting for him._

 _I pulled away from him as I sat up. Jasper looked at me concerned with the sudden change but he said nothing. He was waiting on me._

" _What if we got married?" I said and as crazy as it sounded to even hear my own self suggest something so nuts, it made perfect sense to me right now._

 _Jasper looked apprehensive at first and then he looked like he was considering what I was implying._

 _If we were husband and wife, I wouldn't have to testify against him. And knowing how damaging my testimony would be for him, it was something I wanted to avoid._

" _Are you sure you'd want that?" He almost sounded nervous at the prospect of marrying me. I wanted to feel a bit disappointed but Jasper didn't give me a chance to. "Don't get a fucking sad look on your face, Bella. I'd marry tomorrow if I could. I just think that they'll find some way to stop us from doing it."_

" _We're in a hospital," I countered. "There's gotta be a priest around here or something." I was actually feeling hopeful._

 _Jasper looked skeptical. "Are we?"_

" _Are we what?"_

" _In a hospital," he said. "Collins is the fucking CIA. This could be some facility they're hiding us at."_

 _He made a point and I felt so dumb. From the moment I opened my eyes, I should have checked._

" _Shit!"_

 _Jasper chuckled. "Exactly. I doubt they'd allow us in a hospital. We're too dangerous and Collins won't risk losing us in the wind. He knows one of us will grab the other and run if we get the chance."_

 _Again, he made a damn good point._

 _It was my turn to sigh dejectedly. "You're right." I promised myself to get up and check this place out as soon as possible. But first…_

" _I still think getting hitched would be good for us," I said._

 _Jasper gave a warm smile. "You're sure you want a bad guy like me, Ms. Swan?"_

 _I smirked. "Are you sure you can handle a bitch like me, Mr. Whitlock?"_

" _Don't call yourself that," he rebuked me. "My girl's not a bitch. She's a beautiful disaster who I am madly in love with." He told me, pulling me close for a kiss that warmed my heart._

 _We talked about marriage. We teased one another with information we didn't know about each other. It felt like we were a happy couple, engaged and chatting away about our faults while looking forward to being together._

 _But we weren't alone and we wouldn't get what we wanted._

 _Jasper was right. They wouldn't let us ruin their plans. Agent Collins showed me this._

 _Since Jasper was still healing, he needed his rest. He had fallen asleep and I decided to check the place they had us at._

 _I carefully climbed out of bed, making sure I didn't wake him. I crept from the room after one last look at him, lying there, sleeping peacefully. I made it out into the hall which was pristine and white and smelled like a hospital should. But this place wasn't a hospital. I walked around a little and while there were other rooms, there were no busy doctors and nurses hurrying through the hall. There was a nurse's station with two agents posing as nurses. There was Carlisle and another doctor, but no other doctors around._

 _Carlisle spotted me and excused himself from the next doctor and came over to greet me with his brutal honesty. "Figured out that it isn't a hospital now?"_

" _Jasper made me realize it." I might as well forget about feigning ignorance._

 _He was about to say something else when we were interrupted by Agent Collins._

" _Well, well, look who's decided to leave their little love nest for a small tour," he said with a gleaming smile that made me feel like punching him in the face as he approached us._

 _Carlisle gave him a cold look before turning away without another word to me._

" _Shall we?" Mr. D said, offering me the crook of his arm. I swallowed hard and looped my hand through his crooked arm."Yes, we shall." He mused as we walked off._

 _We went some distance with him acting like a tour guide. He pointed out rooms and even brought me to the trauma room they had taken Jasper too. "This is where we unfortunately saved your criminal boyfriend."_

 _I pulled my hand out of his._

 _His beady eyes watched me intently as I stepped away from him. If I didn't put some distance between us I was going to hurt him and fuck the consequences. I didn't give a damn._

" _What are you thinking about doing to me, Isabella?" he asked, running his hand over the clean, white sheet on the bed. "Are you thinking like how your daddy would want you think?"_

 _I saw that he loved having an edge over me. The Aro thing was going to be his thorn to my side. And he intended to use it whenever he saw fit._

 _I would not allow him the satisfaction._

" _Which one?"_

 _He looked momentarily stunned by my easy response before he covered it with the real reason he brought me in here. He didn't bother to beat around the bush. "You're not going to marry Whitlock."_

" _Excuse me?" Now I pretended to be dumb. Of course the asshole would have the rooms bugged. He was a damn spy._

" _You heard me, Isabella."_

" _Agent Swan. Ms. Swan," I bit back. "Call me something else! Stop with the 'Isabella' crap!"_

 _His eyes glittered with mischief as he smirked at me, "Oh, I don't think so. I like that name very much."_

 _I turned away from him in an effort to rein in my temper. I was going to hurt him bad and get everyone that mattered to me in trouble if I didn't calm down._

" _As I was saying," He went on like nothing was wrong. "You can't marry him. We have a deal. You'll work for me on my Ops team and in return I won't throw the book at Jasper or Charlie or Rosalie or Jacob."_

 _I could feel myself slowly advancing on him as he reeled off his tongue all the things he would take from me. Jasper, my dad, my sister, my friend and what was left of Jasper's family and friends._

" _I think it would be really sad if I were to get rid of them all, don't you think?" He mused._

 _I moved fast but he was quicker and punched me in the chest, knocking the wind out of me. I cursed myself as I took necessary breaths. I could have hurt my kid because I was blinded by my hate for this man and momentarily forgot how delicate I was at the moment. I wanted to retaliate and would have too if it wasn't for Carlisle stepping in at the right time and holding me back. I was bent on making Mr. D hurt bad, but Carlisle was my rationality._

" _Stay calm," was all he said. His voice was deadly calm. "I heard him," He told me within Mr. D's earshot. "I know what he wants and I know what you're capable of, but not like this, Bella. Not like this."_

 _Mr. D laughed at us. "Yes, Isabella! Listen to a fellow killer. Did you know Carlisle was the Whitlock's cleaner and damn good at it too?" He inquired with a chuckle as I tried to get out of Carlisle's grip to attack him. A medical tray with clamps and scalpel was within my reach. Mr. D saw it when I saw it and smirked, "Reach for it and you'll never see the light of day again."_

 _H stepped up to me, coming to stand within a breath of me, his pepper minted breath fanning my face as he spoke, "Isabella Volturi," I bristled at the use of the name 'Volturi' and he smiled leeringly. "I will take everything you hold dear from you with a smile on my face if you don't do what I want. I will finish my assignment my way and I don't give a damn how many of yous I have to destroy to do it. I will kill every one of these people you have saved, from Carlisle's son to his killer daughter-in-law to your lover, Whitlock. I will kill Charlie and Rosalie in front of you just to watch you go through the pain of losing them. I'm too powerful for you, Isabella. You have no choice but to join me or else…" He walked away but before leaving the room, he said, "Make the interrogation good and I'll see what I can do for Whitlock."_

 _He left._

 _Carlisle let me go._

 _My mind was filled with rage. I wanted to hurt something or someone. I couldn't see straight._

 _I stormed out of the room and headed back to my room. Jasper was awake._

" _Where did you go?" he asked, and the sound of his voice, the concern in it made me break down. I ran into his arms, holding him close. "Bella, what's wrong?"_

"I told him everything," I said to Rosie. "I told him I couldn't get us out. He said he knew we couldn't and that's why he wanted me to take off and leave him behind."

"You won't," she said with a chuckle. "Me and Dad have a bet going. Dad's not totally in agreement with you and Jasper but…"

"What?" I asked as we sat in the car, now parked in the parking garage of the FBI building.

"Charlie's not gonna stand in the way, Honey Bee," Rosie said. "Whatever makes us happy."

"He's still pissed though," I said to her.

"Yeah." She laughed.

Rosie and I got out of the car. I reminded myself not to touch my stomach as I have found myself doing on more than one occasion recently. It was as if I felt like my kid was gonna fall out or something. I didn't know what to do. How pregnant ladies acted. This was when I wished I had a good mom to turn to for advice. But when I remembered Renee, I remembered Aro and her devotion to him.

Was I the same way with Jasper? Willing to do the unthinkable?

I shook the thought away. They were crazy. Jasper and I were normal and just willing to fight for what we never thought we would get a chance at. A life and someone to love.

"Are you ready for this?" Rosie asked me.

"Yes," I said with very ounce of confidence I had. I was ready for whatever came next.

We took the elevator upstairs and when the doors opened I was met with inquiring eyes and whispers. There were some looks of hatred but that was mostly from Banner's office sluts like Agent Lauren Mallory. Everyone knew she was his pimp. She and I had never seen eye to eye and right now, if she dared say anything to me, knowing the bitch would say something to upset me, they would likely lock me up for assault before we could get anywhere with my debriefing.

Thankfully, she kept her mouth shut. Just lousy looks which I cut my eyes at.

Rosie laughed. "Who's the bitch?"

"Banner's bitch."

"Oh," Rosie said. "Explains why she's trying to kill you with a death glare."

I chuckled and rolled my eyes at my sister as we made our way down the hall. They were a few agents who smiled at me and nodded. These people weren't Banner's favorites. I didn't frequent the office before I took Jasper's case, but these people were the ones who always assisted me on other cases. They were good people.

But I wasn't here to remind myself about office politics. I was here to do get interrogated about my actions while on assignment and how I got on said assignment. I remembered Alice briefly and thought about the strings she must have pulled.

How crazy was my little sister exactly? I would go over that later. Right now, I was here to leave the FBI behind for a more devious character named Agent Demetri Collins of the CIA. A man who would be nothing but a nemesis to me and everything I loved.

I would find a way to get rid of him. He thought he was too powerful for me to touch. He would learn eventually that I wasn't to be reckoned with.

"Will you be alright?" Rosie asked as we sat outside Interview Room 1.

I gave my sister a cool grin. "I'll be fine."

And I would be.

We waited for a while and then I was called into the interview room. The room resembled a small court room. There was a desk and chair in the middle of the room for me to sit at. And at the head table, sat five heads of the department. Another agent might tremble seeing the Director of the Chicago Division of the FBI sitting here, but I was calm and ready for whatever they had cooked up to throw at me. Mr. D said to make it good and I would. Every move I was about to make would bring me closer to a dream I now had. A dream of my family and friends existing together without the burden of killing adversaries just so we could survive. I was determined not to continue living my life for the job. I would fulfill the dream my brother Jamie once had of having a life outside of all of this.

And then they started.

The Chief now sitting in Banner's position spoke up. "Good day, I am Agent Parkes, please state your name for the record," he said in an authoritative tone into his microphone.

"Agent Isabella Swan, Sir." I replied in my microphone.

Everyone at the head table nodded while I was being scrutinized in their glares by all of whom were seated there.

I felt like a frog about to be dissected.

"Well, Agent Swan, as you are aware, this is a debriefing," Agent Parkes said.

"Yes, Sir."

"And as an agent, I'm sure you are quite familiar with field assignments," he said.

"Yes, sir." I agreed. I was very familiar with these proceedings but this would be a little different. As I looked at everyone I noticed a familiar face. Her name was Helena Carter and she wasn't here because of the FBI. Yeah, she was a divisional chief, but she was also a top dog of Agent Demetri Collins' team and an ally to the CIA. She was here to make sure I did what I was supposed to do and say what Mr. D wanted me to say.

She would be sitting in as my puppet master at this proceeding.

"Good," Agent Parkes said. "Then we can get on with it."

I was grilled. Brutally. I was verbally stripped naked with every inch of my investigation scrutinized. I almost lost my cool once when it sounded like they were trying to save Banner from punishment he rightfully deserved for all the snitching and planning he helped Aro and the Whitlocks with. He used government resources to aide criminals and Agent Parkes along with the Director almost sounded like they wanted to sympathize.

Bile rose in my throat as they talked about his exemplary service to the FBI. But I held back. I couldn't give them any reason to suspect anything. My pregnancy had to remain a secret. Even Mr. D wanted it so. He was still keen on me getting an abortion, but he didn't want me babble to my soon-to-be former superiors about it and I wasn't going to do neither.

I hated to use my child like this, but my pregnancy would give me enough to plan a way out of Mr. D's clutches without the risk of all whom I want to take with me falling into another asshole's trap.

We would finally be free.

Once, I got my head back in the game, it was in time to hear Agent Carter squashing any ideas of Banner getting out of this. Making me realize just how powerful she was compared to everyone else at the table when I watched the Director and Agent Parkes, squirm when her voice thundered over theirs.

I wanted to smile at the whining dogs but I held it in.

She directed her attention to me. "Agent Swan?"

"Yes, Ma'am?"

"I heard you are planning on resigning. May I ask why?" She narrowed her gaze at me. Yeah, I knew what to do. This was just part one of Mr. D's plan and I wasn't too keen on getting to part two but that was where I would making the bastard very happy.

The day I would testify against Jasper. But this part he left up to me. And I wanted to be dumb enough to confess to these men that I had been manipulated and my actions regarding infiltrating Jasper Whitlock's camp were screwed up. I was filled with hatred and grief and not thinking clearly and what happened from then on was now being used against me by the CIA. And could they help me?

That would be a joke. I wasn't that stupid. These bastards wouldn't consider helping me. I could preach about the years I had served the agency impeccably before Jasper, without so much as a complaint about any assignment and it wouldn't make any difference. They wouldn't help. They couldn't. Half of them in front of me were dirty.

Being in Jasper's world had opened my eyes. There were other hard assignments I had been on but being around him had taught me so much. Especially when it came to power and what some would do to get it and keep it. There was no one to trust. Anyone could be bought for the right price and power made people crazy.

"It was a premeditated decision, ma'am," I said to her.

"How so?" Agent Carter inquired.

With a small smile and a fake look of sincerity on my face, I said, "I have done all I wanted to do. I even completed a difficult assignment of finding my brother, fellow agent, James Swan' murderer and brought him to justice. My time with the agency is finished."

She and everyone else at the table were quiet for a while before she broke the silence. "Well, there comes a time when we all need a change. If leaving the agency behind will benefit you then thank you for your service, Agent Swan."

"Thank you, ma'am," I said with a nod. She nodded back and I knew it meant more than what was happening in this room. I was on my way out the doors of the FBI and soon would be entering that of the CIA.

"Well, I think we are finished here," Agent Carter said to the others at the table with her. They looked baffled and confused but she and I were done for the day. She turned her attention to me. "Agent Swan, you may go."

Agent Parkes was about to interject when I rose from my seat, but Agent Carter stopped him, telling him and the others, "The next time we'll see Agent Swan will be when she gives her testimony against Jasper Whitlock."

She was speaking to them and reminding me of my next task.

"You may go…Ms. Swan," she said while the others sat, looking scolded.

I liked how she threw the 'Ms. Swan' at me, telling me I was now free.

I walked out of the room and was greeted by Rosie. "Are we good?" she asked.

"Yeah," I said as we walked away.

"What next?" she asked.

"You know what," I told her as we stepped onto the elevator. "My testimony."


	42. Testimony

_**Jasper, 2006**_

Running a hand through my hair, I closed my eyes with a deep sigh. Behind the closed lids, I could see her smile. She had a beautiful smile I realize I didn't get to see often and I probably never will.

Opening my eyes, I blankly stared at the wall in front of me.

Where would I go from here? I don't know but I had a plan. No matter what happened next, I would protect the mother of my child. I loved them both. This meant I had to do what was necessary to get them out of harm's way. To do this, I might have to spend a long time in prison, if not forever. And as crazy as it sounded, if that was what I had to do to keep what was left of my family safe then that was what I'd do.

I was currently sitting at a Detention Center awaiting my next trial hearing. They were moving things pretty quickly with me. The motherfuckers couldn't wait to get me behind the bars of whatever prison they were going to send my ass to.

I was sure a lot of worried higher ups were hoping I would die prison. And it made me smile. The fucks. They couldn't last an hour in the places I had been. Prison was nothing new to me. I had been in and out of jail since I was a kid.

My mother always hated that about me. She thought I took after Pop. Just had to get myself in trouble. She was right.

Yeah, one day I would breathe my last breath on this green Earth but not before I took out some motherfuckers.

I wanted to laugh. Because of the damaging testimony I had already given so far, a lot of shake ups have been happening. A few high ups in the government were braving it out. These assholes lived in me and Pop's back pocket were either scampering for high powered attorneys to try and talk down my claims or resigning and running before their asses got caught.

The corrupt bastards didn't know I had all bases covered.

The only thing the prosecution truly had was Bella's testimony about what she experienced and saw while undercover in my gang. They had that and whatever other story they could cook up to put me away and keep me locked up forever.

With Bella's testimony, they were looking to paint me as but a lowdown, dirty criminal. An arms dealer without a conscience. A vicious killer who was willing to get rid of anyone who crossed him.

As if they didn't already knew that and still took our money when we offered it.

My lawyer wanted to keep Bella off the stand. I didn't mind. She should do it. They were expecting her not to so they could paint her as nothing but my whore. If she tried to back out, they would say I told her to do it and she was both in my bed and in my back pocket like their dirty asses.

I wouldn't stand for it. I wasn't going to sit by and watch her be crucified.

The cell I was currently sitting in was smaller than one of the bathrooms in my penthouse. But as uncomfortable as they expected me to feel, and I was, I knew why I was here. I chose to be here. For my family. For my love. For my child.

My family. Pop and Michael were already buried. Agent Collins got me out for the funeral. I had to bury both my father and brother at the same time. I had no other choice. They wouldn't let me have two separate funerals.

Agent Collins expected me to be thankful. He told me as much when we were on our way back to the Detention Center after the funeral.

 _My dad and my brother were in the ground and I was standing here in a suit my uncle Carlisle had brought for me with prison chains and handcuffs around my ankles and hands along with an ankle monitor just in case I tried anything according the asshole, Collins. There were sharpshooters around here and agents on the ground if I attempted to run off. And since he couldn't trust the other guests in attendance, he beefed up security in order to keep an eye on them too._

 _I didn't care. I was just standing here promising my dead family that I would make sure Bella and the baby made it out safe. I knew Pop would have been angry at first about us being together since she was a Fed, but he would have accepted her. Bella's fiery temper would have made him like her. Michael already adored her. He thought she was the world since he enjoyed watching me fall all over myself for her. Knowing that he was going to be an uncle would have made the kid so happy._

 _Emmett, Edward and Leah couldn't be here. But Bella, Rosalie and Charlie were. Charlie got the agents to back off a little. I stood alone with Bella watching the caretakers cover my father and brother's caskets with dirt. I felt my knees buckle and she went down on her knees with me, holding my head to her chest while I cried in her bosom. I knew we weren't the best people and we had to go at some point, but this was my dad and my brother. I loved them._

 _I saw my pop's face after he told me he would have done things differently. I remember the look in his eyes while he died. I remember my little brother battered and bloodied. I promised him I would see him again. And I never did. The next time I saw his body was in his casket. Agent Collins didn't even let me view the body after he died._

 _For my love. Bella stood by me. She wasn't shy to stay with me. She didn't care about the disapproving looks from the other agents. She openly greeted me when I got out of the van in my shackles and was being led into the cemetery. Just a hug from her and I felt like I could breathe and the day, as devastating as it was going to be, it wouldn't be so bad. She stayed with me. She cried with me. And I loved her even more for it._

 _For my child. When we hugged before parting ways, Bella made sure to press her body against mine so I could discreetly touch her stomach where our child was growing._

" _You don't have to say anything," she said. "I know. I love you too."_

So with Agent Collins on my case and the fact he wanted Bella working with him for God knows how long, I kind of anticipated spending forever behind bars if that fucker had his way. The bastard hated me. He had it in for me and was targeting me even though I was critical to his mission, but he was willing to go beyond the rules to find a way to torture me.

I didn't mind. I could take the punishment. I just hated that he was targeting Bella too. Knowing that made me want to rip the bastard's spine out.

A guard strolled up and stopped in front of my cell door. My cell door opened and I tensed. You gotta be ready for anything in a place like this. Some knew not to fuck with me, especially since I was a Whitlock, but they were always dumb motherfuckers trying to come up like the idiots they were.

I knitted my eyebrows as I looked at the burly guard who stepped into my cell.

"What?" I growled at him.

He took a step back in the small space but he was still trying to look tough as he stared me down.

"Get up!" He told me.

I cocked an eyebrow at him as if to ask who he thought he was talking to like that.

He cleared his throat. I watched his jugular move and I pictured jamming something sharp in there for a second. Not yet. Adding to my sentence before I was even convicted wouldn't be a good thing.

I had to laugh at the fool in front of me. I had taken down bigger guys than him. He was trying to be intimidating. Trying to tell me that he knew who I was and he wasn't scared of a criminal piece of shit like me.

I knew otherwise. He was scared out of his mind because he knew who I was and why I was in here. My ass was in this joint for massacring a lot of sons of bitches including members of my own gang.

I was sure that was the story. Since my arrival, I have seen how weary some fuckers have been of me. Good. Let's keep it that way until I blew this joint for a federal prison.

One thing that made me smile was knowing Banner was in here with me, but I wasn't going after the bastard yet. He was trying to but he wasn't going to get off his charges even if he thought otherwise. It was the one favor, Agent Collins had granted me. He was going to make sure Banner ended wherever I was heading and I could take things from there.

Banner may have been a good snitch and I was sure he swore he had this thing locked and he was going to get away with some petty sentencing. But the fucker failed to realize it didn't matter how long he got, I was going to make sure he never made it out alive.

He thought my connections were limited to just corrupt cops, corrupt politicians and FBI agents? I had a lot good source in the Correctional System too. It was great source for me. Always had been. And my connections were in good condition too. I even got wind of where I would probably be heading after my trial.

The USP Marion in Williamson County, near Marion, Illinois for however long the judge decided for me. I was going to spend it at the Marion.

"Not until you tell me what for!" I shouted back.

"You got a visitor," my guard said gruffly. I knew his boss and if he kept up with the attitude, he was going to find himself out of a job. He was probably pissed because he had to answer my request to see my lawyer so late in the night.

I didn't give a shit.

"Is she here?"

"Yeah," he mumbled and walked out.

I got up from my cot and calmly followed him out sans handcuffs. We went by other cells with prisoners jeering the guard, daring him to touch a hair on my head or try to put cuffs on me.

I smiled. He wouldn't dare. He was angry not stupid.

When we got to the visiting area, the guard opened the door for me and I strolled into the room that held my fiery lawyer standing over her opened briefcase, mumbling to herself.

Siobhan Callum, my attorney. She was something else. A hellion like Bella. She was a force to be reckoned with. A born winner. The ginger headed 5'5 woman with the pale skin and green eyes was the granddaughter of a loyal henchman of my granddad. I was keeping it in the family.

"You called?" Siobhan said in a snide tone.

"I called," I said. "How is she?"

Siobhan chuckled darkly. "You and she are something else. I doubt I'd ever seen anything like it. And I have known you for most of my life!"

Like her granddad, Siobhan was family to the Whitlocks. She had gotten most of our members out of jams over the years. She was a good lawyer. One of the best I had come across. I could trust her to do what was needed to be done in this case. Things had been running smooth for us because Siobhan loved to win. But now that things were coming to a close, Siobhan didn't like the direction we were going in. But it was how things had to go. She hated that so we were constantly bickering about the case whenever we met up to discuss her next approach.

She wanted to crush Bella on the witness stand, but I wouldn't allow it. The day she approached the topic of me letting her use my relationship with Bella against her, I got mad at her and told her some dark things that had her running away scared and me being forcefully placed in my cell to calm down. I wouldn't tolerate Bella getting any more hurt than she already was by all of this. Half of this shit wasn't even our fault. It was our folks, but we were the ones paying the price for their sins.

"How so?" I said to her with a lazy grin. I knew full well what she meant and who we were talking about. Bella must have been pressuring her about something.

"Don't you dare do what she says if it's about what I think it is," I warned Siobhan, making her laugh and rolled her eyes at me.

"You think it's easy to tell her no," she said. There was a hint of fear in her voice.

"I know how persuasive she can be," I argued. "And you know how terrible I can be so you're gonna listen to me, aren't you?"

I knew I was threatening her. I didn't need to. But I had to convince her not to let Bella convince her to let us go another route when it came to my trial. Bella wanted me out even if we had to run, but I wanted her and my child out, even if I had to stay behind.

I would anything to protect them. Even rot in prison.

Siobhan took a seat across from me with a sigh. She ran a hand through her hair while she looked at me with nothing but frustration written all over her face.

"You're driving me crazy," she told me.

I smirked. "I aim to please, love."

She smiled. "I hate this. I don't like losing. You fucking know that."

"I know," I said with a smile. "You'll win others."

We talked about my case. About Bella's testimony and how damaging Siobhan thought it was going to be. She was looking to get it stricken, but no such luck.

We continue to talk until we had nothing else to discuss and Siobhan left and I was escorted back to my cell. I lay down in my cot, staring up at the ceiling, wondering what Bella was doing.

 _ **Bella, 2006**_

She walked into her office, slamming the door shut behind her. I knew she went to see him. And whatever was discussed had upset her. I was here to ease her mind. What I was about to tell her would at least give her a moment of victory in this case.

Siobhan flipped on the lights and jumped with a scream. "Shit!"

I glanced up at her. "What?"

She held a hand over her heart, leaning against the frame of her door and closed her eyes. "You nearly gave me a heart attack!"

"Yet there you stand," I said with a lazy grin on my face.

She took a couple calming breaths before she opened her eyes to me. When she felt like she could walk, she strolled over to me, throwing herself in a seat on the opposite end of her cherry oak desk.

We didn't need to exchange pleasantries. It wasn't our relationship. In fact, Siobhan didn't think Jasper and I were good for each other. We were enemies and she truly believed that if we had stayed as such, half the shit that happened to us probably wouldn't have occurred.

But she was here nonetheless because Jasper was like family to her. Siobhan was one of the best lawyers they had. From what I had learned about her, she had gotten the Whitlocks out of many binds since she became a lawyer.

She was a gangster's dream attorney if they got pinched. Siobhan could talk the worst of the worse out of a jail sentence.

"Well, let's get to the meat of the matter since tomorrow you'll take the stand, Ms. Swan," she said casually.

"Jasper doesn't want me to?" I replied just as calm.

"He knows you'll have to testify, but he doesn't want me to grill you too hard."

I scoffed. "I hope you told him that was bullshit!"

What was with Jasper and acting like a martyr?

"I tried to," she said quietly.

I shook my head. "It doesn't matter what he said, I'm testifying and you're going to roast my ass on that stand, do you understand me?"

Siobhan chuckled. "That's easier said than done."

"What do you mean?" I stared her down and watched her squirm under my fiery gaze.

She cleared her throat before she spoke, "I know Jasper and I'm assuming you are very acquainted with him too."

"Meaning?"

"His temper," she deadpanned. "I don't want to face that man's wrath for going against his wishes."

I sighed heavily. My temper was rapidly getting the better of me. She was worried about Jasper? She should be worried about the loose cannon in front of her right now.

I made my way to her, getting into her face. "You're worried about Jasper's fury raining down on you for going against what he wants?"

She chuckled nervously. "Yes. I know you two are a recent thing, but Jasper is family to me. As such, I know how bad that man can get. He can be a person's worst nightmare and prison won't be able to protect anyone from him. He's got connections beyond even the family."

"He's well connected?" I smiled leeringly at her.

She shook a little. "Yes."

"You're worried about the wrong thing, Siobhan."

"Oh really?" she scoffed and still shook a little.

"Yes," I said quietly. "Don't worry about the monster sitting in a detention center right now. Worry about the monster standing in front of you," I told her in a deadly tone. "I will not have anyone defying me. So you're going to do as I say, aren't you?"

"Listen," she started and I grabbed her by the throat and ran her back into the wall opposite us. I held her there, almost lifting her off her feet, while she struggled against my tight grip as she choked. "Bella…Bella…Be…" She was clawing at my hands and her throat as I continued to cut off her air supply.

I was talking but she was telling me what she and Jasper thought was best for me. I didn't need that. He wanted to protect me and our child. But I had to watch out for him. I had to save him.

 _ **Jasper, 2006**_

The days passed quicker than I thought. My trial was almost over. So called witnesses have come and gone with their inventive stories. I laughed through half of it while listening to the bullshit the prosecution had cooked up with the judge threatening to hold me in contempt on more than one occasion.

Bella hadn't been here and I was thankful for that. Although I knew the prosecution was holding her testimony out until the last moment. They thought whatever she had to say as a government agent who had successfully infiltrated my gang would be enough to lock me away forever.

I was having an issue with the fact that Siobhan told me about Bella threatening her and refusing to play by my rules. My woman was a stubborn one. She knew what I was trying to do and still thought it would be better to defy me.

I wanted to argue with her so fucking much but one visit from her before any verdict was passed and while she was still in the FBI was set off red flags we didn't want flying yet. She already took a huge risk coming to my family's funeral to support me.

But God, I wanted to give her a strong talking to about that shit she pulled with Siobhan and going against what I said.

Who was I kidding though? Bella would never listen. It was partly what I loved about her. Her defiance.

I jarred out of my thoughts by the bailiff appearing and announced, "All rise! Judge Chan presiding."

Judge Chan walked in and took his seat. We followed suit and were seated. Judge Chan looked over his glasses at me with a stern expression on his face as he took me in.

So I smiled at him making him shake his head and look down at the documents in front of him.

I knew all I should know about the judge. He wasn't a bad guy. Wasn't in my pocket, but I had a few people around him who were. Money could be a powerful and evil motivator. I could have hurt the 'witnesses' who were brought in with their stories but I didn't.

The court proceedings began for the day. Siobhan argued with what the prosecution put across and just as it looked like the prosecution's case was sinking, the girl walked in.

The judge had asked if the prosecution had any witnesses when it looked like he was failing and the chump was all too pleased with himself when he called Bella's name. The court went silence enough for me to hear her footsteps as she approached. I fought myself not to look behind me as she got closer. I won the battle until she walked by the desk on her way to the witness stand.

She looked beautiful. Her growing hair was pulled back away from her face and in a ponytail. Her navy blue pants suit made her look like the head of a major corporation instead of a Special Agent of the FBI. And the serious expression she wore on her face told me she was about to do something to piss me off.

That was her look of defiance.

I knew that look because I hated it. Bella had a plan and whatever it was; I was going to be very angry when it was revealed to me. But what did I expect? She was one of the most stubborn people I had ever met!

"Oh shit," Siobhan mumbled.

"What is it?"

"She wore that suit."

I was at a loss. "And?" I wanted Siobhan to elaborate.

"We couldn't exactly talk anymore since we have gotten here," Siobhan explained. 'Here' I assumed meant my trial. "So the swan would send bat signals." Siobhan continued through clenched teeth.

What the fuck?

I was gonna kill her! I was gonna rip Bella to shreds for doing this! "And a dark suit means?" I hissed at Siobhan. "What does a dark suit like that mean?"

Siobhan swallowed nervously before she answered me. I watched the prosecution rise. He was ready to question Bella.

Bella looked at me just as Siobhan said to me, "It meant the swan was going to do things her way."

The prosecution began his questioning. I listened to him make all of his points and Bella answering accordingly. He grilled her about her involvement in recent parts of her assignment and I wanted to wring his neck.

I was pissed off at her, but I didn't want anyone upsetting her and potentially causing our child harm. This was why I wanted to do things my way but she wouldn't listen. I couldn't be too concern about me when there was her and our child for me to care about. I didn't want the stress of my trial getting to her.

By the time the prosecution was through and trying to show me his 'tough guy' look while he went it back to his seat, I was gripping mine for dear life so I wouldn't spring out of my chair and attack the little bastard for things he asked her.

I didn't like his questions. I know I shouldn't care but I did.

While he was praising Bella for doing what other agents couldn't, he glossed over all she had to endure to get close to me. He mentioned the danger she was in like it was a fleeting thought when I knew Banner' s snitching could have gotten Bella killed more than once.

It was a good thing I already knew she was coming from her brother giving me a heads up before he died. It was, and this was in a sick and twisted way, a good thing that her real father, Aro, was obsessed with making her like him or else I knew he would have killed her long ago.

Listening to the prosecution as he breezed by her devotion and the stress she was under along with dealing with her brother's death by someone in my world's hand, it was too much to be brushed aside like nothing.

But I knew what Bella's FBI bosses were doing and it was unfair to her and her family.

They were going to use her to sink me. Using what she saw and experienced from her time in my camp to get me a long conviction, but they are going to paint her as the bad guy in Banner's trial to get him a lesser sentence. By the time she got to his trial, they were gonna twist things so that it looked like Bella mostly on her own. Banner was just an innocent bystander in her plot.

Bella would have been sent by Banner or under his command into my gang after she convinced her oh so innocent boss that she could get me then once she was inside she would go rogue and get involved with me.

They would make it seem like Bella and her crazy sister, Alice, were working together. Bella would be painted in Banner's trial as my whore after getting charmed by me and my money.

That was their fucking plan!

Bella had to get out of here before she had to testify against Banner or else they were going to use it to sink her. I thought about Agent Collins. Would he really let that happen since he wanted Bella to work for him? Then again he could let it happen and have her sent to prison then bust her out and use it as some elaborate leverage over her so she would forever be in his debt.

"Are you okay?" Siobhan asked.

"Get her out of here after she testifies against me!" I hissed at my lawyer.

She looked confused. "Don't think about it. Just do it!" I growled at her.

She nodded and the judge asked if she was ready to cross examine the witness.

She turned her attention to the judge and Bella. She stood and said in a confident voice, "I am, Your Honor."

"Proceed," Judge Chan nodded.

Siobhan was quiet for a while. I could see the wheels turning in her mind as she strolled to the middle of the courtroom. The prosecution looked at ease like he thought Siobhan was stumbling and this would be an easy win for him.

Stupid fucking rabbit! He didn't know my lawyer. She was about to get nasty. And how bad she got would be dependent on how pissed off I will be at later on.

She smiled at Bella. "You're a Special Agent of FBI, right?"

"Yes," Bella said coolly.

"And you are…" Siobhan walked back over to our desk and checked something in her files. "What they would like to call a road agent. Am I correct?"

"Objection!" The prosecution yelled. "Where is this going, Your Honor?"

"I will allow," Judge Chan said.

"Thank you, Your Honor." Siobhan replied then returned her attention to Bella, walking away from the table. "Agent Swan, you have been a part of the FBI family for a few good years. From your records, you are an outstanding agent. You are very good at surviving situations that would probably get the common man killed."

"Yes," Bella replied.

"Some have commented about you being a robot since you work non-stop, especially when you're on an assignment." Siobhan went on. What was she getting at?

"Yes."

"So what was different?" Siobhan asked out of the blue. I thought we were talking about Bella's job.

Bella looked just as baffled.

"Let me clarify!" Siobhan said in an upbeat voice. She walked back to the desk. I gave her a hard look and she shrugged. Turning back to Bella, she said, "What was different about your assignment with Mr. Whitlock that made you fall into bed with him?"

Bella looked shocked by the question and I wanted to fire my lawyer.

"I…" Bella stumbled and hesitated.

Siobhan went in for the kill.

"Answer the question, please!" Siobhan pressed. "What was different about Mr. Whitlock? Was it his charm? His wit? His clever sense of humor? What?!"

"There was…" Bella stumbled.

"What?" Siobhan pushed. "Were these peculiar circumstances? What was so strange about it? What made it easy to fall into my client's bed for information?"

Bella lashed out. "I didn't fall into bed with him!"

"So you have never had sexual relations with my client, a known criminal?" Siobhan was great at pushing buttons because she was pushing mine at the moment. I couldn't wait to get her alone. I needed to know why these two were doing exactly what I told them not to do!

Bella looked trapped by the question. Siobhan smiled. "And don't think of lying, Agent Swan. It would be very wrong of you to perjury yourself."

"Well, let' say for the sake of your assignment, you did what it took to gather information on my client. I'm sure your boss didn't literally look at you at you and tell you to go and get Mr. Whitlock into bed, did he, Agent Swan?"

"No," Bella answered begrudgingly.

"Good!"

Siobhan continued to badger Bella on the stand. I was enraged. This was what she wanted? Siobhan was going for the kill, trying to cut Bella's throat by making the jury question her credibility as an agent.

When Siobhan was through, she wanted Bella to seem like a lovesick groupie who came into my world to take me down with so called evidence but decided to stay and gain from the lifestyle I could provide her. The evidence she collected on me was taken into account, but Siobhan was there to shoot it down with what I saw as a winning testimony, as much as I hated to admit it, came at the credibility of Bella's effectiveness as an undercover agent.

Siobhan led the court to believe that while Bella was amazing on other assignments, with me, she faltered because she had feelings for me.

By the time Bella left the witness stand, I could see nothing but doubt on the prosecution and the jury's faces.

Whatever this plan Bella had was, would it work?

For a second, I had hope.


End file.
